tihrary  of  Che  Cheolo^ical  ^eminarjo 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 
PRESENTED  BY 

Rufus  H.  LeFevre 

.52.K58 


A  MANiJADUN  11  1952  . 

CHURCH  DISCIPLINE 

OF  THE 

United  Brethren  in  Christ 


TO  SECURE  UNIFORMITY  OF  ADMINISTRATION 
IN  THE  CHURCH 


Adapted  to  Discipline  of  1893 


BY 

BISHOP  EZEKIEL  B.  KEPHART,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY 
BISHOP  J.    WEAVER,  D.D. 


DAYTON,  OHIO 

United  Brethren  Publishing  House 

1895 


Copyright,  1895, 
By  W.  J.  Shuey,  Publisher. 


All  rights  reserved. 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction, 


CHAPTER  I. 

MEMBERS. 

Section  I.— Reception  of  Members. 

Who  May  Receive  Members  and  How       -----  19 

Membership  Must  Not  Depend  on  a  Vote  —  Bishops'  Ruling  19 

Reception  of  Members  from  Other  Churches  -       -       -       -  20 

Evangelical  Churches  Defined      -- 20 

Reception  of  a  Member  Who  has  been  Expelled     -       -       -  21 
Receiving  Under  Watchcare  — Rights  and  Privileges   -       -  21 
Persons  Received  Contrary  to  Discipline  are  Members- 
Ministers  Amenable  for  Receiving 21 

Receiving  Members  from  Limits  of  Another  Charge     -       -  21 

Section  II.— Transfer  and  Dismission  of  Members. 

By  Certificate  — How  Granted  — Removal  Without  Letter 

—  Bishops' Ruling       -- 22 

Not  Bound  by  Vow  or  Pledge— Bishops' Ruling     -       -       -  23 

Exhorter's  and  Preacher's  Transfer— Bishops' Ruling-       -  23 

Neglect  of  Duty,  Etc. 24 

Ministers  Withdrawing  from  United  Brethren  Church  — 

Bishops'  Ruling 24 

CHAPTER  II. 
CONFERENCES. 

Section  I.— General  Conference. 

Of  Whom  Composed       -....-_.»  25 

Sessions  Quadrennial      ------.._  25 

Bishops  Preside --25 

Functions  of,  Legislative  and  Judicial      -       -       -■      -       -  26 

Elects  Bishops 26 

Examines  Records  of  Annual  Conferences      -       -       -       -  26 
iii 


iv  CONTENTS 

Section  II.— Annual  Conference. 

1.  Of  Whom  Composed -26 

2.  Number  and  Boundaries  Determined  by  the  General  Con- 

ference   ------------27 

3.  Divided  into  Presiding  Elder  Districts,  Circuits,  Missions, 

and  Stations ----27 

4.  Boundaries  of  Circuits,  Stations,  Etc.— Bishops' Ruling      -    27 

5.  May  Adopt  Rules  for  Itself 27 

6.  The  President  is  One  of  the  Bishops 27 

7.  Examines  Preachers       ---------28 

8.  Functions  of  a  President — Bishops' Ruling     -       -       -       -    28 

9.  Ministry  of  Two  Orders— How  Received— Elders  Must  be 

Baptized  — Bishops' Ruling      -------29 

10.  Transfer  May  be  Rejected  — Bishops' Ruling  -       -       -       -    30 

11.  Superannuated  Relation,  Etc.       ------       -3i 

12.  Right  in  Conference  of  Different  Ranks  of  Preachers  -       -    31 

13.  Conference   Cannot   Receive   a  Preacher   Expelled    from 

Another  Conference -31 

14.  Minister  Cannot  Travel   Outside   Conference   More   than 

Two  Years,  Except  in  General  Church  Work     -       -       -    31 

15.  Commencement  of  Conference  Year  ------    32 

Section  III.— Quarterly  Conference. 

1.  Origin  of 32 

2.  Who  are  Members    ----------32 

3.  Presiding  Elder  is  President         -------32 

4.  Presiding  Elder  Limited  to  His  District    -----    33 

5.  Powers  and  Functions  of  Quarterly  Conference    -       -       -    33 

6.  Presiding  Elder  Must  Appoint  Time  of  Holding    -       -       -    34 

7.  Conference  May  Hold  Adjourned  Sessions       -       -       -       -    34 

8.  Presiding  Elder  May  Adjourn  Quarterly  Conference    -       -    35 

9.  Presiding  Elder  Decides  Questions  of  Law       -       -       -       -    35 

10.  Minutes  Approved  at  Close  of  Session       -----    35 

11.  On  Arrest  of  a  Member --35 

12.  Member  of  Two  Quarterly  Conferences  at  Same  Time— To 

Which  Amenable 36 

13.  Relation  of  the  Presiding  Elder  to  the  Quarterly  Conference    36 

14.  Bishops'  Rulings  on  Delinquents  on  Pastor's  Salary    -       -    37 

Section  IV.— Class. 

1.  Origin  of  Idea 38 

2.  Of  Whom  Composed  —  How  Organized     -----  38 

3.  Election  of  Leader 38 

4.  Assistant  Class-Leader 38 

5.  Division  of  a  Chiss  — Abandoned  When     -----  38 
G.    Officers  Elected  Annually 39 

7.  Report  of  Revision  of  Records  Should  be  Submitted  to  the 

Class 39 

8.  Each  Class  Determines  Its  Own  System  of  Finance      -       -  39 

9.  Members  Dissatisfied  with  Assessment     -----  40 


CONTENTS 


Section  V.—  Class-Leader. 

1.  Who  May  be  Leader ----40 

2.  Duties  of  Leader -----40 

Section  VI.— Stewards. 

L  Three  Classes— How  Appointed  — Approved  by  Class         -    41 

2.  Duties  of  Class-Steward  - 41 

3.  Presiding  Elder  Steward         --------42 

4.  Genex'al  Steward,  Duties  of    --------42 

5.  Officers  Amenable  to  Quarterly  Conference     -       -       -       -    42 

Section  VII.— Official  Board  for  Stations. 

1.  Are  Members  of  Quarterly  Conference      -       -       -       -       -    43 

2.  Pastor  is  President ---_43 

3.  Must  Elect  Secretary ---_43 

4.  Duties  of  Treasurer  ---------43 

5.  All  Persons  Entrusted  with  Money  Must  Report  to  Official 

Board       -.-. ^3 

6.  Duties  as  Estimating  Board 43 

7.  Meetings  of —  Reports  to  Quarterly  Conference      -       -       -  44 

8.  Financial  Estimate  of  a  Charge  — When  Made— Its  Use     -  44 

CHAPTER  III. 

MINISTERS. 

Section  I.— Bishops. 

1.  Are  Elected        ---------       -.45 

2.  Duties  of-- 45 

3.  To  Whom  Amenable -_4(j 

Section  II.— Presiding  Elders. 

1.  Early  Existence  of  Office -46 

2.  Election,  Duties,  Etc. 46 

3.  Vacancy— How  Filled 46 

4.  May  Change  Pastors __4(j 

5.  May  Dismiss  Pastors ----4(j 

6.  Presiding  Elders  of  Mission  Conferences  or  Districts  Must 

Make  Quarterly  Reports  to  the  Secretary  of  Missionary 
Society 47 

7.  Appoint  Pastors  to  Vacancies 47 

8.  Rulings  of  Board  of  Bishops  Regarding  Functions  and  Pre- 

rogatives of  Presiding  Elders  -       -       -       -       -       -    47 

Section  III.— Preachers. 

1.  Classes  of  Preachers 4S 

2.  Duties  of  Preachers  in  General -       -    48 

3.  Trespass  of  Preachers— Insubordination  of  a  Church  -       -    40 


VI  CONTENTS 

Section  IV.— Itinerants  and  Their  Duties. 

1.  Meaning  of  Term 50 

2.  How  Assigned  to  Charges      --- 50 

3.  Charges  Supplied  from  Itinerant  List       -----    50 

4.  May  Appeal  from  Stationing  Committee  to  Conference      -    50 

5.  Duties  as  Pastor -50 

6.  Preacher  in  Charge  ----------52 

7.  Sacraments  — Who  May  Administer  -       -----    52 

8.  Topics  for  Special  Discourse         -------53 

Section  V.— Ministers'  Salaries. 

1.  Of  Bishops 53 

2.  Of  Presiding  Elders 53 

3.  Of  Missionaries 53 

4.  Of  Pastors 54 

5.  Support  of  Superannuated,  Etc. 54 

6.  Charge  Must  Move  a  Preacher      -------54 

7.  Resignation  of  Preachers  —  When  Required     -       -       -       -    54 

8.  Resignation  of  Preachers  —  How  Made  — Salary     -       -       -    54 


CHAPTER  IV. 
CHURCH  TRIALS. 

Section  I.— Trial  of  Members. 

Introductory _--..56 

(1)  Importance  of  Subject         -------50 

(2)  Right  of  Church  to  Discipline    ------    5ti 

(3)  How  It  Must  be  Done  --------57 

Chairman  of  Committee  of  Trial         ------    57 

(1)  Preacher  in  Charge  Chairman  in  Trial  of  Members, 

Unless  Partisan  ---------57 

(2)  If  Convicted,  Official  Board  Pronounces  Him  Expelled    58 

(3)  Chairman  Must  Not  Charge  Committee         -       -       -    58 
Complaints         -------.---58 

(1)  Pastor  or  Committee  Must  Visit  Accused       -       -       -    58 

(2)  Cases  Not  Formally  Presented  Maj'  Receive  Atten- 

tion       ---■-----.--58 

(3)  Crimes  Committed  During  Church  Membership  are 

Indictable    ----------59 

(4)  Complaints  are  Not  Destroyed  tjy  Neglect  of  Author- 

ities        ------59 

(5)  Accessory  to  Crime  also  Guilty         -----    59 

(6)  Order  for  Formulating  Charges         -----    59 

(7)  Why  This  Order  Must  be  Followed 60 

(8)  Each  Charge,  with  Its  Specifications,  Must  be  Inde- 

pendent       -----.----(JO 

(9)  Bill  of  Charges  Should  be  Plain 60 


CONTENTS  Vll 

Complaints,  continued. 

(10)  Two  Distinct  Offenses  Should  Not  be  in  One  Charge  60 

(11)  Charges  and  Specifications  Must  be  so  Drawn  That 

Accused  May  Know  What  to  Do  — Errors  May  be 

Corrected 01 

(12,13)    Billof  Charges  — By  Whom  Signed  -       -       -       -  (il 

(14)  Where  a  Number  are  Implicated,  Charges  Must  be 

Made  Against  Each  --- 01 

(15)  Copy  Must  be  Given  to  Each  One  Accused  -       -       -  02 

(16)  Bill  of  Charges  Left  at  Residence  of  Accused      -       -  02 
Select  Committee 02 

(1)    Of  Whom  Composed 02 

(2,3)    Who  May  Vote  in  Trial 02 

(4)  How  Elected 02 

(a)    The  Right  of  Challenge 02 

(&)     How  Expelled  -       -       -       -                -       .       .  (j;j 

(c)  Denial  of  Charge      -------  o;^ 

(d)  Disobedience  to  Order  of  Church         -       -       -  03 

(e)  Dispute  Between  Members  and  Preacher         -  04 

(5)  Duty  and  Power  of  Quarterly  Conference  in  Trials    -  W 

(6)  Who  Should  be  Selected  as  Committeemen  -       -       -  05 

(7)  Committee  ^Nlust  be  Unprejudiced 00 

(8)  What  the  Committee  Must  Decide  — Verdict  Must  be 

in  Writing  ----- 00 

Order  of  Trial. 07 

(1)  The  Records  ot  Trial  — Duty  of  Chairman  — Of  Secre- 

tary—Right of  Appeal  to  Quarterly  Conference     -  07 

(2)  Order  of  Procedure  in  Conducting  a  Trial      -       -       -  68 

(3)  If  Defendant  Pleads  Guilty  or  Not  Guilty     -       -       -  08 

(4)  Cannot  be  Tried  a  Second  Time  for  Same  Offense       -  69 

(5)  Can  a  Seeker  be  Tried? 6'J 

(6)  Accused  May  Bar  Trial  — When                        -       -       -  70 

(7)  Amendment  of  Charges 70 

(8)  On  Suppressing  One  or  More  Charges  from  the  Bill  of 

Charges         ----------70 

(9)  Witnesses  Absent 70 

(10)  Evading  Trial       - 70 

(11)  Trial  Restricted  to  Formal  Charges               -       -       -  71 

(12)  Dismissal  of  Trial  After  Beginning        -       -       -       -  71 

(13)  W^ho  May  be  Counsel ■     -       -  71 

(14)  Church  Trials  Private 71 

(15)  Records  of  Trial  Cannot  be  Changed  Witliout  Con- 

sent of  Both  Parties 71 

(16)  Uniformity  in  Course  of  Procedure       -       -       -       -  71 
Laws  of  Evidence "1 

(1)  Laws  of  Evidence  Same  as  for  Civil  Courts  -       -       -  71 

(2)  Principles  of  Laws  of  Evidence       -----  72 
Witnesses ~- 

(1)  Two  Witnesses  Required     -       -                      -       -       -  72 

(2)  Accused  May  Testify "^ 


Viii  CONTENTS 

7.  Witnesses,  continued. 

(3)  Husband  and  Wife  May  Testify  Against  Each  Other  73 

(4)  Incompetent  Witnesses 73 

(5)  Competency  of  Witnesses 73 

(6)  Who  Determines  Competency 73 

(7)  Judge  Should  Not  be  a  Witness 73 

8.  Examinatioii  of  Witnesses 73 

(1)  May  be  Examined  Apart  from  Other  Witnesses-       -  73 

(2)  Witness  Should  Tell  What  He  Knows  — Record  of 

Evidence 73 

(3)  Leading  (Questions 74 

(4)  Memorandum  May  be  Used 74 

(5)  Opinion  as  Testimony  — Expert  Testimony  -       -       -  74 

(6)  Exceptions  to  Evidence 74 

(7)  Right  of  Chairman  to  Question 74 

(8)  Members  of  Committee  May  Ask  Questions         -       -  74 

(9)  Administering  Oaths  Forbidden 74 

(10)  Impeachment  of  Witness -  74 

(11)  Depositions  of  Absent  Witnesses 75 

(12)  Order  of  Notice  of  Deposition— Forni  of  Deposition  75 

(13)  Neglect  to  Notify  Accused  Annuls  Deposition  -       -  7(j 

(14)  Deposition  Must  be  Sealed 7(J 

(15)  Commission  of  Annual  Conference  to  Take  Testi- 

mony   ---- 76 

(16)  Deposition  by  Letter 76 

9.  Appeals 77 

(1)  The  Right  of  Appeal 77 

(2)  Restriction  of  Appeals 77 

(3)  Time  Limits  for  Appeals  — Notice  of  Appeals      -       -  77 

(4)  Right  of  Appeal  — Who  Determines         -       -       -       -  77 

(5)  Order  of  Conducting  an  Appeal 78 

(6)  Right  of  Appeal  Not  Allowed 78 

(7)  Right  Forfeited  by  Intentional  Absence       -       -       -  78 

(8)  Right  Forfeited  by  Withdrawing  from  the  Church    -  78 

(9)  How  Court  of  Appeals  Should  Deal  with  Illegal  Pro- 

cedure   -----78 

(10)  New  Evidence  Not  Admitted  in  Appeal       -       -       -  79 

(11)  Jurisdiction  of  Appellate  Court 79 

(12)  Decision  of  Lower  Court  in  Force  Until  Reversed  J)y 

iV  ppellate  Court 79 

(13)  Referred  for  New  Trial 79 

(14)  New  Trial  Granted  — When 79 

Section  II.— Trial  of  Preachers. 

1.  Who  is  Prosecutor SO 

2.  Preachers  and  Exhorters  Anienable  to  Wliom       -       -       -  80 

/. — Quarterljf  Conference  Preachers  and  Exhorters. 

1.  Amenable  to  Quarterly  Conference    ------  81 

2.  How  to  Proceed  with  Trial  — Sentence  and  Its  Effects- 

Authority  of  Prosecutor 81 


CONTENTS  ix 

3.  Prerogative  of  Quarterly  Conference 82 

4.  Who  May  be  Coniniitteemen -  82 

5.  Manner  of  Procedure --82 

6.  Committee  Trial  Preliminary —  Jurisdiction  of  Quarterly 

Conference— May  Appeal  to  Annual  Conference      -       -  m 

7.  Accused  May  be  Tried  in  His  Absence 8;3 

8.  Sentence  of  Committee  Only  an  Arrest  of  Character    -       -  83 

//. — Annual  Conference  Preachers. 

1.  Trial  by  Peers 83 

2.  Examination    of    Complaints  — Preferment  of   Charges  — 

By  Whom 83 

(1)  The  Committee  of  Trial       -------84 

(2)  The  Verdict  of  Committee 84 

(3)  All  Records  Submitted  to  Annual  Conference     -       -    84 

(4)  Presiding  Elder  May  Suspend  — When    -       -       -       -    84 

(5)  Disciplinary  Sentence  Must  be  Enforced       -       -       -    85 

(6)  When  a  Quarterly  Conference  May  Appoint  a  Third 

Committeeman 85 

3.  Committee  Trial  Only  Preliminary 85 

4.  Object  of  a  Committee  Trial:  to  Protect  Accused  if  Inno- 

cent; to  Save  Church  from  Reproach  — Rights  of  An- 
nual Conference  Not  Abridged 85 

5.  Accused  Cannot  be  Tried  a  Second  Time  for  Same  Offense    86 

6.  When  Annual  Conference  May  Organize  a  Committee  of 

Trial 86 

7.  Prerogative  of  Annual  Conference,  When  a  Case  has  been 

Presented  Without    Investigation    by   Committee    for 
Want  of  Time 87 

8.  Case  Kept  Open  by  Protest  till  Next  Annual  Conference 

Does  Not  Affect  Ministerial  Standing 87 

9.  Annual  Conference  May  Not  Restore  One  Whom  It  P'orm- 

erly    Expelled  — Expelled     ^Member     May    Apply     for 
License  in  Quarterly  Conference,  Etc.  -       -       -       -    88 

10.  Annual  Conference  May  Try  One  Who  has  been  Acquitted 

by  a  Committee  of  Trial 89 

11.  Sentence  of  Guilty  by  Committee  of  Trial  Silences  the 

Accused  ..-_- 89 

12.  If  a  Conference  is  Divided,  the  Committee  of  Trial  Must 

Report  to  the  Conference  of  Whicli  Accused  is  a  Member    89 

13.  Place  of  Trial W 

14.  Grounds  of  Suspension  Stated    -------    W 

15.  Complaints  Alone  Not  Sufficient  Ground  for  ErasingNamc    iiO 
It).    For  What  Charges  Arraigned  Before  Committee  of  Trial    -    !K) 

17.  Verdict  in  Rehearing  Trial iH) 

18.  Accused  May  be  Tried  in  His  Absence !»1 

19.  Suspended  Preacher  Still  Amenable i'l 

20.  Suspension  for  Definite  Period  Cannot  be  (\jntinued  After 

Expiration  of  Time 91 


X  CONTENTS 

21.  When  Conference  May  Erase  a  Name       -----    91 

22.  Annual  Conference  Secretary  Must  Keep  Complete  Record 

of  Trial 92 

23.  Minister  Divorced  Except  for  Adultery  ]May  Not  Marry     -    92 

Section  III.— Offenses  Indictable. 

1.  Rule  of  Discipline  for  Trial  to  be  Stated 92 

2.  Rules  and  Offenses  Classified 92 

3.  Church  Labor  Necessary  in  Case  of  Lay  Member  -       -       -  93 

4.  Trial  for  Heresy  — Baptismal  Hobby  Forbidden    -       -       -  93 

5.  Suits  for  Slander  Forbidden         ---.___  94 

6.  Charge  of  Slander  May  be  Proved       ------  94 

Section  IV.— Penalties. 

1.  Purpose  of---- ---94 

2.  Order  of - 94 

S.  Church  May  Forgive  or  Practice  Mercy  — To  Whom  Sus- 
pension and  Penalty  Apply     - 95 

4.  Trial  Must  Precede  Penalty 95 

5.  Penalty  ]Must  be  Based  on  Charge 95 

6.  Maladministration,  Penalty  of     -------95 

7.  Expelled  Member  or  Preacher  3Iay  be  Received— When     -    95 

8.  Proof  of  Disciplinary  Injustice  Restores  Accused  -       -       -    96 

Section  V.— Arbitration. 

1.  Cases  for  Arbitration       ---------    95 

2.  Discretionary  Power  of  Preacher  to  Decide      -       -       -       -    96 

3.  AVho  May  be  Arbitrators ---96 

4.  Who  May  be  Chairman -..-96 

5.  Order  of  Arbitration ...96 

6.  When  Required         ---------.97 

7.  Disputes  on  Back  Salary  Arbitrated   ------    97 

8.  Refusal  to  Arbitrate,  Penalty  of  ---._-    97 

9.  Penalty  for  Undue  Haste  in  Litigation     -----    97 


CHAPTER  V. 

CHURCH  PROPERTY. 

Section  I.— Houses  of  Worship  and  Parsonages. 

L    In  Whom  the  Right  of  Church  Property  is  Vested        -       -    98 

2.  Trustees  Must  Submit  Plans,  Etc.,  to  Official  Board  or  Quar- 

terly Conference  — Board  Must  be  Incorporated— Must 

Secure  Warranty  Deed      -- 98 

3.  Treasurer  of  Board  and  Duties      -       - 99 

4.  Trustees— By  Whom  Elected 99 

6.    Term  of  Ofiice  of  Trustees 99 


CONTENTS  xi 

6.  Duties  and  Rights  of  Trustees 99 

7.  Dispute  Between  Trustees  and  Pastor  Regarding  Use  of 

Cliurcli  House -----100 

8.  Trustees  May  Lease,  Rent,  or  Sell  Church  Property —When  100 

9.  Transfer  of  Church  Property  from  One  Conference  to  An- 

other        100 

10.  Pulpits  Open  to  Other  Ministers  — When 100 

11.  Pews  Free .jOi 

12.  Abandoned  Churches      -----._..  jq^ 

13.  Abandoned  Parsonages  -------..  joi 

14.  Forcible  Entry  of  Church  Prohibited       -       -       -       -       -  102 

15.  Restrictions  of  Trustees  and  Preacher  in  Use  of  Church 

Funds 102 

16.  Trustees  Amenable  to  Quarterly  Conference  -       -       -       -  103 

Section  II.— Subscription  Papers. 

1.  Form  and  Content  of  Subscription     ------  103 

2.  Subscriptions  Collectible  — When  and  Where        -       -       -104 

3.  Subscriptions  Not  Collectible  — When       -       -       -       -       -104 


CHAPTER  VI. 

RULES  OF  ORDER. 

Section  I.— Introductory^ 

1.  Importance  of  Rules  of  Order      - 105 

2.  Bishop  Presides  When 105 

3.  Presiding  Elder  Presides  When 105 

4.  Preacher  in  Charge  Presides  Wlien 105 

Section  II.— Organization. 

1.  Organization  May  be  Temporary  or  Permanent— Calling 

to  Order  — Election  of  Temporary  Chairman     -       -       -105 

2.  Election  of  Temporary  Secretary 106 

3.  Credentials  of  ^Members 106 

4.  Election  of  Permanent  Officers    -------106 

Section  III.— The  Presiding  Officer. 

1.  Duties  of 107 

2.  Rights  of 107 

3.  Absence  of  President 108 

Section  IV.— The  Recording  Officer. 

1.  Duties  of 108 

2.  Absence  of  Secretary 108 


Xll  CONTENTS 

Section  V.—  Rights  of  MemberSc 

Rights  of  Members -       -  108 

Section  VI.— Introduction  of  Business— Motions. 

1.  Motions  Must  be  Reduced  to  Writing  When    -       -       -        -  109 

2.  Motions  Must  be  Stated  by  the  President 109 

3.  Motions  Must  be  Seconded 109 

4.  Motions  May  be  Withdrawn 109 

5.  Two  Motions  of  Same  Order  Cannot  be  Entertained  at 

Same  Time -----  110 

6.  Disposition  of  a  Motion 110 

Section  VII.— The  Main  Question. 

1.  Should  be  in  Writing      - -..  110 

2,  3.    Its  Precedence 110 

4.    When  It  Cannot  be  Made •       -       -  110 

Section  VIII.— Privileged  Motions. 

1.  To  Fix  the  Time  to  Which  to  Adjourn 110 

2.  To  Adjourn 110 

3.  Questions  of  Privilege Ill 

4.  Orders  of  the  Day Ill 

Section  IX.— Incidental  Motions. 

1.  Appeals  on  Questions  of  Order Ill 

2.  Objections  to  Considering  a  Question 112 

3.  The  Reading  of  Papers 112 

4.  Withdrawal  of  a  Motion 112 

5.  Suspension  of  Rules -112 

Section  X.— Subsidiary  Motions. 

1.  To  Lay  on  the  Table -113 

2.  The  Previous  Question 113 

3.  To  Postpone  to  a  Certain  Day 113 

4.  To  Commit 114 

5.  To  Amend .  114 

6.  Indefinite  Postponement --114 

Section  XI,— Miscellaneous  Motions. 

1.  To  Reconsider -       -  114 

2.  Filling  Blanks 115 

3.  Renewing  ^lotions  --------._  hq 

Section  XII.— Undebatable  Questions. 
Undebatable  Questions --116 


CONTENTS 


XIH 


Section  XIII.— A  Two-Thirds  Vote. 
A  Two-Thirds  Vote       -       -       - i^^ 

Section  XIV.— A  Quorum. 
A  Quorum - Hg 

Section  XV.— Rules  of  the  General  Conferences  of  1885-93. 

Rules  of  the  General  Conferences  of  1885-93    -       -       -       -       -117 

CHAPTER  VII. 

FORMULAS  AND  FORMS. 
Section  I.— Ordination  of  Elders. 

Ordination  of  Elders ---123 

Section  II.— Marriage  Ceremonies. 

1.  Common  Ceremony 124 

2.  Ring  Ceremony 125 

Section  III.— Burial  of  the  Dead. 

Burial  of  the  Dead 127 

Section  IV.— Holy  Communion. 
Holy  Communion  --- ,123 

Section  V.— Baptism  of  Adults. 
Baptism  of  Adults  ------ 129 

Section  VI.— Baptism  of  Children. 

Baptism  of  Children 130 

Section  VII.— Laying  of  Comer-Stone. 
Laying  of  Corner-Stone        -_-----__  131 

Section  VIII.— Church  Dedication. 

Church  Dedication  .__--.---_  132 

Section  IX.— Certificates  and  Licenses. 

1.  Transfer  of  Member 135 

2.  Certificate  of  Membership    -       -       - 135 

3.  Certificate  of  Withdrawal l-'55 

4.  License  for  Quarterly  Conference  Preachers  and  Exhorters  1.30 

5.  Permanent  License  for  Quarterly  Conference  Preachers    -  130 

6.  Annual  Conference  License  _-.----  m] 

7.  Elder's  License 1^7 

8.  Transfer  of  Preacher 137 


CONTENTS 


Section  X.— Bequests. 

1.  Home,  Frontier,  and  Foreign  Missionary  Society  -       -       -  137 

2.  Woman's  Missionary  Association       ------  137 

Section  XI,—  Reports. 

1.  Preacher's  Report -       -  138 

2.  Sabbath-School  Superintendent's  Report        -       -       -       -  139 

3.  Class-Leader's  Report 139 

4.  Contribution  Card    ----------  139 


WORKS  OF  REFERENCE  CONSULTED. 
Discipline  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ. 

MiNUTE-BoOK  OF  BiSHOPS'  RULINGS. 

Minutes  of  United  Brethren  General  Conference. 

CusHiNG's  Manual,. 

Robert's  Rules  of  Order. 

Smith's  Diagram  of  Parliamentary  Rules. 

Baker  on  Discipline. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  Christian  church  is  a  divine  institution,  organ- 
ized by  the  authority  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  gave  to  his 
inspired  apostles  the  command  to  "preach  the  gospel 
to  every  creature, ' '  and  ' '  set  in  order ' '  whatever  was 
necessary  to  complete  the  organization  of  the  church. 
What  they  did  is  just  as  authoritative  as  what  they 
said.  While  no  form  of  church  polity  in  detail  is  spe- 
cifically given  in  the  New  Testament,  the  foundation 
principles  are  laid  down,  from  which  the  necessary 
details  may  be  deducted.  So  far  as  these  foundation 
principles  are  given,  all  Christians  should  conform  to 
them.  Concerning  the  less  important  matters  not 
definitely  prescribed  in  the  Scriptures  the  church  should 
be  guided  by  the  dictates  of  reason  and  expedienc}'. 
Great  care  should  be  exercised  so  as  not  to  incorporate 
in  the  details  of  church  polity  any  principle  that  in  any 
way  will  conflict  with  the  foundation  principles  laid 
down  in  the  New  Testament. 

The  word  church  is  generally  understood  to  mean  ' '  a 
congregation  of  faithful  men  in  which  the  true  word 
of  God  is  preached,  and  the  sacraments  duly  adminis- 
tered according  to  Christ's  ordinances,  in  those  things 
that  of  necessity  are  requisite  to  the  same."  Organiza- 
tion and  concert  of  action  are  essential  to  success  both 
in  church  and  state.  Organization  necessarily  implies 
some  fundamental  principles  which  form  the  basis  of 
government.  To  suppose  that  Christ  and  his  inspired 
apostles   established  a  church,  or  founded  a  kingdom, 


XVI  INTRODUCTION 

without  any  form  of  government,  is  to  suppose  an 
irrational  thing.  Because  the  minute  details  of  church 
polity  are  not  expressly  laid  down  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, we  are  not  thence  to  conclude  that  no  form  of 
church  polity  whatever  is  given.  The  fact  is,  the 
foundation  principles  are  authoritatively  given,  while 
the  details  are  left  to  the  judgment  of  Christians. 
Among  the  foundation  principles  of  church  government 
left  us  by  the  inspired  apostles,  maj^  be  mentioned: 
first,  public  meetings  for  worship  were  held  at  stated 
times  and  places ;  second,  the  sacraments,  baptism 
and  the  Lord's  Supper,  were  dul}'  administered  ; 
third,  ofiicers  were  appointed  to  take  the  oversight 
of  both  the  temporal  and  spiritual  interests  of  the 
church  ;  fourth,  the  first  da}'  of  the  week  was  duly 
observed  as  the  Christian  Sabbath.  Paul  in  his 
epistle  to  the  church  at  Corinth  gives  direction  con- 
cerning the  Lord's  Supper,  and  concludes  by  saying, 
' '  The  rest  will  I  set  in  order  when  I  come. ' '  Thus  it 
appears  that  oi^der  was  to  be  observed  in  the  apostolic 
church,  which  necessarih'  implies  a  government.  Every- 
thing was  done  in  an  orderl}'  manner.  So  the  church 
to-day,  cop34ng  after  the  divine  model,  vShould  conduct 
its  affairs  in  an  orderly  manner. 

The  government  of  a  particular  church,  or  denomina- 
tion, may  be  either  oral  or  written,  but  for  the  sake  of 
unity,  purity,  and  order,  it  were  better  that  it  be  writ- 
ten. ' '  Discipline  is  to  a  church  what  order  and  regularity 
are  to  a  family,  or  the  maintaining  of  government  and 
the  administration  of  law  to  a  nation."  A  discipline 
containing  the  creed,  constitution,  and  general  rules 
of  a  church  is  not  to  be  substituted  for  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  but  to  contain  in  brief  a  statement  of  the 
fundamental  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  and  the  details  of 
church  polity  the  basis  of  which   is  contained   in  the 


INTRODUCTION  XVii 

apostolic  church.  It  is  designed  also  to  be  a  means 
of  promoting  unity,  order,  and  active  cooperation 
within  the  pale  of  the  church. 

The  author  of  this  manual,  after  long  and  patient 
study,  has  given  us  in  the  briefest  possible  manner  a 
clear  digest  of  the  polity  of  the  United  Brethren  Church. 
His  explanations  of  the  different  rules  laid  down  in  our 
Book  of  Discipline  will  be  found  to  harmonize  not  only 
with  each  other,  but  with  the  general  polity  of  the 
Church.  We  have  long  felt  the  need  of  such  a  digest. 
Uniformit}^  in  the  administration  of  law  in  the  church 
is  all-important.  Paul  commands  that  "all  things  be 
done  decently  and  in  order."  This  direction  given  by 
the  inspired  apostle  should  be  scrupulousl}^  observed, 
because  it  is  a  matter  of  infinite  moment  in  all  that 
concerns  the  Christian  church.  Decenc}-  and  order  in 
the  administration  of  law,  as  well  as  the  worship  in  the 
sanctuarj^  are  to  be  observed  with  all  possible  care. 
The  manner  of  performing  an  act  is  often  of  as  much 
importance  as  the  act  itself  Great  and  lasting  harm 
has  frequentl}'  been  done  to  individuals  as  well  as  to 
the  church  by  the  loose  and  improper  manner  in  which 
the  rules  of  discipline  have  been  administered. 

This  manual,  if  carefully  studied,  will  prove  to  be  of 
great  value  to  ministers  and  ofiicial  members  of  the 
Church,  upon  whom  in  no  small  degree  devolves  the  re- 
sponsibility of  administering  the  laws  of  the  Church. 
By  a  proper  use  of  the  instructions  and  suggestions 
given  in  this  manual  mistakes  will  be  avoided  and 
harmony  of  administration  secured.  I  therefore  most 
cheerfully  commend  this  book  not  only  to  ministers  and 
those  holding  official  positions  in  the  Church,  but  to  the 
members  in  general.     All  should  read  it  with  care. 

Cases  not  unfrequently  arise,  to  meet  which  no  specific 
rule  is  given  in  our  Book  of  Discipline.     They  grow  out 


XVlll  INTRODUCTION 

of  local  circumstances,  and  are  so  complicated  that  they 
cannot  be  anticipated.  Such  cases  require  the  applica- 
tion of  principles  contained  in  different  rules  of  disci- 
pline. By  a  careful  study  of  the  comments  given  in 
this  treatise  upon  the  several  rules  in  the  Discipline,  and 
the  analogy  of  law,  a  correct  solution  to  nearly  all  these 
complicated  cases  will  be  reached.  The  author  of  this 
manual  is  a  painstaking  writer,  and  with  his  well-known 
abilit}^  as  a  thinker  I  bespeak  for  this  book  a  careful 
reading  and  a  wide  circulation.  It  comes  to  us  at  a 
time  and  under  circumstances  which  indicate  that  the 
hand  of  Providence  was  in  its  conception  and  prepara- 
tion. 

J.  WEAVER. 
Dayton,  Ohio,  July  10,  1895. 


CHURCH  MANUAL 

OF  THE 

Administration  of  the  Discipline. 


CHAPTER  I. 

MEMBERS. 

Section  I.— Reception  of  Members. 

1.  In  the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ 
the  officiating  minister  is  the  constituted  authority  to 
receive  suitable  persons  into  church  membership.  At 
an}'  meeting-  the  pastor  (minister  officiating)  may  open 
the  door  of  the  church  for  the  reception  of  members. 
Should  any  person  present  express  a  desire  to  become  a 
member,  the  preacher  officiating  shall  ask  such  person 
in  the  presence  of  the  congregation  questions  i,  2,  t,,  4, 
and  5  of  Discipline  on  ' '  Reception  of  Members. ' '  If  the 
applicant  answer  the  questions  in  the  affirmative,  except 
the  fifth  ( "if  the  answer  to  this  be  in  the  negative,  then 
the  applicant  should  be  required  to  attend  to  the  duty  as 
soon  as  practicable"),  and  no  valid  objections  be  made 
by  any  member,  the  pastor  shall  extend  the  right  hand 
of  fellowship  to  such  person  as  a  member  of  our  Church. 
Or  where  a  church  deems  it  advisable,  the  applicant 
may  be  referred  to  a  committee,  as  per  Discipline  on 
"Reception  of  Members." 

2.  Membership  in  a  church  should  not  depend  on  a 
vote,  and  in  every  case  where  there  is  an  objection  to 
the  reception  of  an  applicant,  the  case  should  at  once 

19 


20  MANUAL   OF   UNITED   BRETHREN 

be  referred  to  a  committee,  where  the  objection  may  be 
heard.  But  in  no  case  should  the  reception  of  a  member 
be  a  subject  of  discussion  in  the  presence  of  the  local 
church.  The  ruling  of  the  Board  of  Bishops  in  1887 
is  thus  :  ' '  When  the  name  of  a  person  is  presented  as 
an  applicant  for  church  membership,  whether  by  letter 
or  profession  of  faith,  and  objection  is  made  to  his 
reception,  the  matter  should  be  referred  to  a  committee 
for  investigation."  (Minutes  of  the  Board  of  Bishops, 
p.  62.) 

3.  Persons  in  good  standing  in  other  evangelical 
churches,  wishing  membership  with  us,  are  received  on 
their  letters,  provided  they  can  answer  in  the  affirmative 
the  usual  questions  of  Discipline  on  "Reception  of  Mem- 
bers." If  no  member  objects  to  the  reception  of  the 
applicant,  the  minister  officiating  may  extend  the  right 
hand  of  fellowship  to  such  person  as  a  member  of  our 
Church.  Should  there  be  objections  to  such  applicant's 
reception,  then  let  the  case  be  referred  to  a  committee  as 
above.  However,  certificates  of  good  standing  are  not 
necessaril}^  required,  from  the  fact  that  some  churches 
do  not  grant  such,  except  to  those  who  wish  to  unite 
with  sister  churches  of  their  own  denomination.  But 
such  persons  should  always  declare  to  the  churches 
of  which  they  have  been  members  their  intention  to 
withdraw  before  they  unite  elsewhere.  Indeed,  it  would 
save  much  friction,  and  sometimes  wounds  that  never 
heal,  if  all  names  of  applicants  were  carefully  canvassed 
by  a  judicious  committee  of  the  local  church,  the 
chairman  of  which  should  always  be  the  pastor  of 
the  congregation. 

4.  Evangelical  churches  are  those  whose  creed  espe- 
cially embraces  the  depravity  of  man,  divinity  and 
humanitj^  of  Christ,  atonement,  redemption,  regenera- 
tion by  the  Holy  Spirit,  justification  by  faith,  witness 


CHURCH    DISCIPLINE  21 

of  the  Spirit,  and  future  rewards  and  punishments  ;  and 
whose  communicants  are  practically  Christian  in  life 
and  character. 

/  5.  If  a  member  of  our  Church  has  been  tried  and 
expelled  according  to  the  forms  of  disciplinary  law,  it 
would  be  maladministration  for  one  of  our  ministers  to 
receive  him  into  church  membership,  unless  he  gave 
good  evidence  of  true  repentance  and  proper  contrition 
for  the  offense  for  which  he  had  been  expelled. 
^  6.  A  person  truly  seeking  the  Lord  may  be  received 
under  the  watchcare  of  the  Church. 

(i)  Such  person  may  not  be  counted  as  a  member 
of  the  Church. 

(  2 )  The  pastor,  by  consent  of  the  local  church  or  the 
official  board,  may  erase  his  name  from  the  church 
register  after  personal  but  unsuccessful  labor  for  his 
salvation  ;  hence,  (^)  he  is  not  entitled  to  a  church  trial ; 
(^)  he  may  not  be  arraigned  for  trial  by  the  society. 

(3  )  He  is  not  entitled  to  a  vote  in  the  society,  but  is 
entitled  to  all  the  religious  rights  and  privileges  of  the 
Church,  such  as  attending  all  the  means  of  grace,  public 
and  private. 

(4)  When  he  attains  to  a  knowledge  of  his  accept- 
ance with  God  and  can  give  satisfactory  answers  to  the 
usual  questions,  he  is  to  be  recognized  as  a  member  of 
the  Church,  and  entitled  to  all  her  privileges.  (See 
Discipline  on  "Seekers.") 

7.  If  a  minister  receives  into  the  United  Brethren 
Church  a  member  contrary  to  the  Discipline  of  the 
Church,  said  person  is  a  member  of  the  Church,  not- 
withstanding, and  may  not  be  declared  out  of  the 
Church  by  his  class  or  quarterly  conference,  but  the 
minister  thus  offending  is  answerable  for  the  same  to 
his  conference. 

8.  A  wise  church  government  does  not  favor  the 


22  MANUAL,  OF  UNITED  BRETHREN 

practice  of  a  minister  receiving  into  membership  a 
person  living  on  another  minister's  charge,  yet  estab- 
lished custom  in  some  instances  justifies  it ;  especially 
where  the  geographical  limits  of  charges  are  not  well 
defined.  Also  circumstances  may  obtain  in  which, 
through  mere  prejudices,  without  anything  tangible, 
one  society  may  refuse  to  admit  to  membership  a 
worthy  person,  which  objections  w^ould  be  insufiicient 
to  prevent  him  from  uniting  with  another;  but  where 
specific  objections  are  presented  by  one  or  more  respon- 
sible members  from  the  society  where  the  person  lives 
to  another  society  where  he  may  wish  to  join,  the 
person  should  not  be  received  until  satisfaction  is  ren- 
dered to  the  aggrieved  society. 

Section  II.— Transfer  and  Dismission  of  Members. 

I.  A  member  moving  from  one  charge  to  another 
ought  to  receive  a  certificate  setting  forth  his  standing 
in  the  society : 

(i)  By  a  majority  vote  of  his  class,  signed  bj^  his 
pastor  or  class-leader.  Bishops'  ruling  in  1882  (Min- 
utes, p.  34):  "In  granting  letters  of  dismissal  from 
the  church  to  a  member,  the  majority  of  the  class  must 
be  present,  and  then  a  majority  of  those  voting  is  neces- 
sary to  grant  said  letters." 

(2)  If  he  is  not  in  reach  of  his  class,  any  of  our 
preachers  may  give  said  certificate. 

(3)  He  is  amenable  to  the  class  granting  the  cer- 
tificate until  he  deposits  it  with  some  local  church. 

(4)  He  must  deposit  it  with  some  other  local  church 
or  return  it  to  the  class  having  granted  it  within  eigh- 
teen months  from  the  date  of  the  certificate,  after  which 
time  it  is  null. 

(5)  If  he  removes  with  a  view  not  to  return,  and 
takes  no  letter,  and  makes  no  arrangement  about  his 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  2$ 

membership,  the  preacher  in  charge  may  record  oppo- 
site his  name,  "Removed  without  letter."  Bishops' 
ruling  in  1883  (Minutes,  p.  41):  "If  a  member  of  the* 
Church  remove  from  his  society  with  a  view  not  to\ 
return,  and  makes  no  arrangement  as  to  his  mem- 
bership, the  preacher  in  charge  shall  write  opposite 
his  name,  'Removed  without  letter,'  " 

2.  Membership  in  a  church  should  never  be  bound 
with  a  vow  or  pledge  to  continue  for  life.  In  truth,  it  is 
a  mutual  relation  entered  into  between  the  church  and 
the  individual,  and  may  be  severed.  However,  a  change  of 
church  relations  ought  not  to  be  made  on  trifling  grounds. 
But  after  prayerful  consideration  and  investigation, 
where  there  is  a  change  of  opinions,  change  of  views 
on  doctrine  and  church  polit}^,  or  for  man}'-  other 
reasons,  a  change  in  church  relations  is  admissible.  In 
all  such  cases,  where  there  is  a  desire  to  change,  and 
disciplinary  requirements  are  fulfilled,  a  certificate  of 
dismission  should  be  given  and  signed  as  above.  Bish- 
ops' ruling  in  1882  (Minutes,  p.  32):  "A  member  or 
members  of  the  Church  asking  for  a  certificate  of  dis- 
missal or  withdrawal  from  the  Church,  if  such  member 
or  members  retract  before  the  certificate  asked  for  be 
granted  by  the  class,  said  member  or  members  are  not 
out  of  the  Church.  The  above  ruling  holds  also  in 
the  case  of  members  of  quarterly  conference." 

3.  It  is  a  requirement  of  the  denomination  that  all 
its  exhorters  and  preachers  sustain  a  class  relation 
to  the  Church  also.  This  is  clearly  set  forth  in  the 
Discipline  in  Chapter  V.  But  a  certificate  of  class 
membership  is  not  necessarj^  in  the  case  of  an  annual 
conference  preacher,  to  admit  him  into  a  class  relation 
when  he  moves  from  one  charge  to  another ;  his  cre- 
dentials are  all-sufiicient  to  admit  him,  so  long  as  they 
are  held  in   force  by  his  conference.     Bishops*  ruling 


24  MANUAI.  OF  DISCIPLINE 

in  1884  (Minutes,  p.  49):  "A  member  of  annual  con- 
ference wishing  to  change  his  membership  from  one^ 
class  to  another,  is  not  required  to  obtain  a  certificate 
from  the  class  of  which  he  is  a  member  ;  nor  may  a 
class  reject  a  member  of  annual  conference  whose  name 
is  presented  to  it  for  membership,  so  long  as  his  moral 
character  is  approved  b}^  his  conference."  (Discipline 
on  "Membership  of  Preachers,"  p.  38.) 

4.  A  church  member  who  neglects  the  means  cf  grace 
by  absenting  himself  from  the  house  of  God,  or  who 
neglects  his  duties  by  failing  or  refusing  to  support  the 
church  as  God  has  prospered  him,  does  not  thereby 
withdraw  from  the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in 
Christ,  but  is  nevertheless  amenable  to  it  for  disobedi- 
ence to  its  order  and  rules  of  discipline. 

5.  A  minister  wishing  to  withdraw  from  the  United 
Brethren  Church  must  make  known  his  desire  to  the 
conference  of  which  he  is  a  member.  A  certificate  of 
good  standing  from  his  presiding  elder  or  from  his 
quarterly  conference,  or  a  letter  of  dismission  from 
his  class, —  any  one  of  them  or  all  of  them  do  not  take 
him  out  of  the  Church.  He  must  withdraw  through 
the  body  to  which  he  is  amenable  and  which  has  juris- 
diction in  his  case.  Bishops'  ruling  in  1883  ( Minutes, 
p.  45):  "An  annual  conference  has  original  jurisdiction 
in  the  trial  of  its  members.  It  alone  has  the  authority 
to  receive  members  into  its  body,  and  expel  or  dismiss 
therefrom." 


CHAPTER  II. 

CONFERENCES. 

Section  I.— General  Conference. 

The  first  General  Conference  of  the  Church  of  the 
United  Brethren  in  Christ  convened  in  Mount  Pleasant, 
Pennsylvania,  June  6,  1815.  At  this  conference  a  book 
of  discipline  containing  the  doctrines  and  rules  of  the 
Church  was  formulated  and  adopted.  Numerous  confer- 
ences prior  to  this  General  Conference  had  been  held, 
in  the  history  of  the  organization  ;  the  first  in  the  city 
of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  in  1789  ;  the  second  in  York 
County,  Pennsylvania,  in  1791 ;  the  third  in  Frederick 
County,  Maryland,  in  1800,  after  which  conferences  were 
held  annually  in  the  East,  and  after  1810  also  in  the 
West.  At  a  conference  held  in  the  State  of  Ohio  in 
1814,  it  was  resolved  to  call  a  General  Conference. 

1.  The  General  Conference  is  composed  of  elders  and 
laymen  elected  as  delegates  by  their  respective  annual 
conferences  under  the  provision  of  the  Constitution, 
Article  I.,  Section  i. 

2.  Its  sessions  are  quadrennial,  and  its  delegates, 
ministerial  and  lay,  deliberate  and  vote  together  as  one 
body,  yet  the  General  Conference  may  order  the  vote 
to  be  taken  by  orders,  but  the  concurrent  vote  of  both 
orders  is  necessary  to  complete  an  action.  (Article  I., 
Sections  2  and  3,  of  Constitution.) 

3.  The  bishops  are  the  presiding  ofiicers  of  the 
General  Conference,  and  at  the  same  time  are  members 
ex  officio  of  the  body. 

No  one  of  the  bishops  is  especially  designated  either 
by  Constitution  or  law  as  president  of  the  General  Con- 

25 


26  MANUAL   OF   UNITED   BRETHREN 

ference,  but  the  one  who  occupies  the  chair  for  the 
time  being  is  the  legal  president,  and  the  order  in 
which  they  preside  is  usually  determined  by  seniority 
in  office.  This,  however,  is  only  b}-  a  mutual  arrange- 
ment among  the  bishops  themselves. 

4.  The  functions  of  the  General  Conference  are  both. 
legislative  and  judicial ;  — 

( 1 )  Legislative,  because  "all  ecclesiastical  power  .  .  . 
to  enact  or  repeal  any  rule  or  rules  of  discipline  is 
vested  in"  it. 

(2)  Judicial,  because  it  is  the  last  and  the  highest 
court  of  appeal  known  to  the  denomination. 

5.  The  General  Conference  elects  the  bishops  of  the 
Church  ^at  each  session,  from  the  elders,  throughout 
the  denomination,  of  six  years'  standing,  and  defines 
their  duties  and  assigns  their  charges.  It  also  elects 
all  other  general  officers  of  the  Church. 

6.  It  has  power  to  review  the  records  of  the  annual 
conferences,  and  see  that  the  business  of  each  is  done  in 
strict  accord  with  the  Discipline,  and  to  approve  or 
annul,  as  the  case  may  require. 

Section  II.— Annual  Conference. 

The  first  conference  in  the  histor}-  of  the  Church  of 
the  United  Brethren  in  Christ  convened  in  the  city 
of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  in  the  year  A.D.  1789.  There 
were  present  at  that  meeting  the  following  ministers : 
William  Otterbein,  Martin  Boehm,  George  A.  Geeting, 
Adam  Lehman,  John  Ernst,  Henry  Weidner,  and  Chris- 
tian Newcomer. 

I.  An  annual  conference  is  composed  of  all  the 
elders  and  licentiate  preachers  who  hold  membership  in 
the  conference,  and  one  layman  from  each  charge  in  the 
conference. 

(i)    These  laymen  are  to  be  "elected  by  the  quar- 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  27 

terly  conference,  at  the  third  or  last  session  in  the  year." 
( 2 )  They  have  equal  rights  with  the  ministry  of  the 
conference,  except  that  they  may  not  vote  (^)  to  receive 
a  minister  into  the  conference,  {b)  to  expel  a  minister, 
or  {c)  to  pass  a  minister  in  his  course  of  reading. 

2.  The  number  and  boundaries  of  the  annual  con- 
ferences are  determined  by  the  General  Conference. 
(See  Article  I.,  Section  6,  of  Constitution.) 

3.  The  annual  conference  is  divided  into  presiding 
elder  districts,  circuits,  missions,  and  stations  by  the 
annual  conference  itself.  The  circuits,  missions,  and 
stations  shall  not  consist  of  any  specific  number  of 
appointments,  nor  shall  a  presiding  elder  district  consist 
of  any  definite  number  of  charges,  but  the  conference 
may  change  them  from  time  to  time,  as  it  may  deem  best. 

4.  The  boundaries  of  circuits  and  stations  and  the 
number  of  appointments  of  which  each  shall  consist, 
are  fixed  by  the  annual  conference.  Hence,  ' '  no  preacher 
shall  dismiss  any  appointment"  except  by  the  con- 
sent of  the  quarterly  conference,  nor  may  he  resign 
only  a  part  of  his  charge.  Ruling  of  the  Bishops  in 
1880  (Minutes,  p.  29):  "A  preacher  cannot  resign  a 
part  of  his  charge.  If  he  cannot  serve  the  charge,  he 
must  resign  the  whole."  (Discipline,  p.  85,  "Dis 
missal  of  Appointments.") 

5.  While  an  annual  conference  is  not  legislative  in  its 
functions,  yet  "it  may  adopt  rules  for  its  own  govern- 
ment not  in  conflict  with  the  Discipline  of  the  Church." 

6.  The  president  of  the  annual  conference  is  one  of 
the  bishops  of  the  Church.  However,  if  a  bishop  be 
not  present,  the  conference  may  elect  a  bishop  pro  tern,, 
whose  acts  shall  be  legal.  If  there  be  more  than  one 
bishop  present  at  an  annual  conference,  they  may  inter- 
change in  presiding  and  assist  in  all  the  duties  of  the 
chair,  yet  there  is  properly  but  one  official  president.    A 


28  MANUAL   OF  UNITED   BRETHREN 

bishop  may  not  make  a  motion  or  vote  in  an  annual 
conference,  nor  speak  on  controverted  questions  in- 
volved in  the  business  of  the  conference. 

7.  All  the  preachers,  whether  licentiates  or  elders, 
are  required  to  report  in  person  or  by  letter  to  the 
annual  conference  and  be  examined  on  the  disciplinary 
requirements  of  preachers. 

8.  The  peculiar  functions  of  the  president  of  an 
annual  conference  are : 

( 1 )  The  bishop  must  decide  all  questions  of  law 
involved  in  the  proceedings  of  the  conference,  as  well 
as  questions  of  order.  On  questions  of  church  law  the 
conference  may  not  overrule  his  decisions,  and  his 
rulings  must  be  its  basis  of  action.  But  the  conference 
has  recourse  to  an  appeal  from  his  decision  either 
to  the  Board  of  Bishops  or  to  the  next  General  Con- 
ference. The  appeal  may  be  taken  by  the  conference 
or  by  any  member  of  the  conference.  But  on  ques- 
tions ot  order  an  appeal  may  at  once  be  taken  to  the 
house. 

(2)  If  an  annual  conference  refuses  to  adjourn 
when  in  the  judgment  of  the  bishop  all  the  business 
ot  the  conference  prescribed  in  the  Discipline  is  trans- 
acted, he  may  adjourn  it  ;  but  if  an  exception  be  taken 
to  the  adjournment,  the  exception  must  be  entered  upon 
the  minutes  of  the  conference. 

(3)  The  president  of  an  annual  or  quarterly  confer- 
ence may  decline  to  entertain  a  motion,  resolution, 
report,  or  paper  which  in  his  judgment  does  not  relate 
to  the  business  of  the  conference,  or  a  motion  for  final 
adjournment  before  the  work  of  the  session  is  com- 
pleted ;  but  he  shall  not  at  any  time  entertain  a  motion, 
resolution,  or  report  of  any  kind  which,  if  adopted, 
would  be  a  violation  of  the  Discipline  or  laws  of  the 
Church.  But  should  the  conference  require  the  president 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  29 

to  do  SO,  he  shall  have  recorded  in  the  minutes  of  the 
conference  his  refusal  to  entertain  the  motion,  resolu- 
tion, or  report,  together  with  his  reasons  for  so  doing. 
Also,  should  the  conference  dissent  from  the  decision 
of  the  president  on  questions  of  church  law,  it  has  the 
right  to  have  recorded  its  dissent  on  the  minutes,  but 
no  discussion  shall  be  had. 

(4)  Bishops'  ruling  in  1884  (Minutes,  p.  50)  in  spe- 
cial cases:  "A  motion  for  the  final  adjournment  of 
a  quarterly  or  an  annual  conference  before  the  regular 
business  of  the  body  is  finished,  is  out  of  order  and 
may  not  be  entertained  by  the  presiding  officer."  "  The 
presiding  officer  of  a  quarterly  or  annual  conference 
cannot  prevent  the  passing  of  the  moral  or  official 
character  of  its  members,  when  a  majority  of  the  body 
is  in  favor  of  so  doing. ' ' 

9.  The  ministry  of  an  annual  conference  consists 
of  two  orders,  elders  and  licentiates,  and  are  received : 

( I )  Through  the  quarterly  conference.  After  having 
stood  in  that  relation  one  or  more  conference  years,  the 
quarterly  conference  may  recommend  a  preacher  to  an- 
nual conference,  by  which  body  he  is  examined.  If  he 
is  not  received  by  the  annual  conference,  he  sustains  his 
former  relation.  A  quarterly  conference  preacher  should 
receive  his  recommendation  to  the  annual  conference  for 
license  to  preach  from  his  quarterly  conference  w^here 
he  resides  and  preaches.  If  he  has  no  charge,  then  he 
should  receive  it  from  the  quarterly  conference  where 
he  resides.  (Bishops'  rulings,  1892,  Minutes,  p.  ']']y) 
Persons  divorced,  except  on  scriptural  grounds,  may 
not  be  received. 

\2)  By  transfer.  A  preacher  moving  from  one  con- 
ference to  another  must  present  a  transfer  from  the 
former,  signed  by  the  presiding  officer  or  secretary. 

(3 )    A  minister  coming  to  us  with  a  certificate  of  good 


30  MANUAL  OF   UNITED   BRETHREN 

Standing  in  the  church  in  which  he  has  held  his  mem- 
bership or  with  a  transfer  from  a  conference,  presbytery, 
or  synod,  and  giving  satisfaction  to  the  conference  of 
his  agreement  on  doctrine,  discipline,  government,  and 
usages  of  our  Church,  may  be  received. 

(4)  A  licentiate  preacher  may  receive  ordination  after 
a  probation  of  three  years.  Yet  in  some  special  cases  a 
licentiate  may  be  presented  for  ordination  at  any  time 
prior  to  a  probation  of  three  years,  provided  two-thirds 
of  the  elders  present  vote  for  the  same.  (See  Discipline 
on  "  Ordination  of  Elders.") 

( 5 )  A  licentiate  preacher  who  has  not  been  baptized 
is  not  a  proper  subject  for  ordination.  Bishops'  ruling, 
1870  (Minutes,  p.  i):  "That  in  view  of  our  Confession 
of  Faith,  which  recognizes  baptism  as  incumbent  on  all 
the  children  of  God,  we  consider  it  inconsistent  to 
ordain  men  to  administer  the  ordinances  of  God's  house 
who  have  not  submitted  to  those  ordinances  themselves  ; 
and  that  we  agree  to  conform  our  administration  in  the 
annual  conferences  to  this  view." 

(6)  Elders  received  from  other  churches  are  exempt 
from  the  laying  on  of  hands,  but  are  required  to  pass 
the  examination  required  of  applicants  for  elders'  orders. 
(See  Discipline  on  "Reception  of  Preachers  from  Other 
Churches.") 

10.  The  transfer  of  a  preacher  may  be  rejected,  but 
if  received  the  preacher  sustains  the  same  relation  in 
the  conference  that  he  did  in  the  conference  from  which 
he  was  transferred,  only  at  the  pleasure  of  the  confer- 
ence receiving  him.  The  rulings  of  the  bishops  on  the 
force  of  transfer  of  preachers  in  1875  (Minutes,  p.  10)  are 
as  follows:  "Preachers  transferred  from  one  annual 
conference  to  another  may,  for  sufficient  reasons,  be 
rejected  by  the  conference  to  which  they  have  been 
transferred.     Such  ministers  sustain  the  same  relation 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  3 1 

in  the  conference  into  which  they  are  received  that  they 
did  in  the  conference  from  which  the  transfer  was  taken, 
only  at  the  pleasure  of  the  conference  receiving  them." 
In  1878  ( Minutes,  p.  20)  :  "A  preacher  holding  a  transfer 
from  his  conference  must  be  received  back  into  the  con- 
ference on  said  transfer  if  presented  within  disciplinary 
time."  In  1888  (Minutes,  p.  67):  "If  a  minister  re- 
cieves  a  transfer  from  his  annual  conference  and  said 
transfer  be  annulled  before  it  is  handed  in  elsewhere,  he 
sustains  his  former  relation  to  his  conference." 

11.  A  superannuated  or  supernumerary  relation,  or  a 
transfer  of  a  preacher,  should  take  effect  from  the  final 
adjournment  of  the  conference  session,  and  not  from 
the  particular  time  the  vote  is  taken. 

12.  A  superannuated  or  supernumerary  or  local 
preacher  has  all  the  rights,  powers,  and  prerogatives 
of  any  other  preacher  of  the  same  rank  in  his  annual 
conference.  He  may  serve  on  committees,  vote  on  all 
questions,  represent  his  conference  in  the  General  Con- 
ference, and  perform  any  or  all  of  the  functions  of  any 
other  member  of  his  conference. 

13.  It  would  be  maladministration  for  an  annual 
conference  to  receive  a  preacher  or  elder  who  had  been 
expelled  or  had  informally  withdraw^n  from  one  of  the 
annual  conferences  of  the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren 
in  Christ,  without  first  having  received  the  consent 
of  the  conference  from  which  he  had  been  dismissed. 
(See  Discipline  of  1893,  p.  62,  Sec.  6.) 

14.  A  preacher  or  elder  may  not  travel  outside  the 
bounds  of  his  own  conference  more  than  two  years 
unless  he  is  engaged  in  general  church  work.  At  the 
expiration  of  two  years  he  is  required  to  take  work  in 
his  own  conference  or  transfer  to  the  conference  in 
which  he  is  employed.  (See  Discipline  of  1893  on 
"  Preacher's  Transfer,"  p.  63.) 


32  MANUAL  OF  UNITED   BRETHREN 

15.  The  conference  year  commences  when  the  ap- 
pointments are  announced  in  the  annual  conference,  and 
continues  until  the  announcing  of  the  appointments  at 
the  next  ensuing  session. 

Section  III.— Quarterly  Conference. 

1.  It  is  not  definitelj^  known  when  the  quarterly  con- 
ference idea  was  first  introduced  into  our  Church,  but  it 
was  among  the  primitive  ideas  of  the  denomination,  and 
at  an  early  day  took  form  in  our  church  government. 
It  seems  to  be  an  essential  factor  in  the  itinerant  sj'stem. 
Three-quarters  of  a  century  ago  the  "quarterly  meet- 
ing" was  an  occasion  of  no  small  interest  to  a  United 
Brethren  community. 

2.  The  members  of  a  quarterly  conference  are  the 
presiding  elder  of  the  district,  preacher  in  charge,  and 
all  properly  recognized  preachers,  exhorters,  leaders, 
class-stewards,  the  general  steward,  the  church  treas- 
urer, trustees  of  meeting  and  parsonage  houses,  superin- 
tendents of  Sabbath  schools,  and  presidents  of  young 
people's  societies  organized  in  harmony  with  the  provi- 
sions of  Discipline  controlling  the  organization  of  such 
societies,  when  such  officers  are  members  of  the  Church 
of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ,  who  reside  within  the 
bounds  of  the  circuit,  station,  or  mission,  or  hold  mem- 
bership therein.  The  members  of  the  quarterly  confer- 
ence ' '  present  at  any  regular  meeting  shall  constitute  a 
quorum  for  the  transaction  of  business."  All  members 
of  the  quarterly  conference  not  under  charges  have  an 
equal  right  to  speak  and  vote,  except  on  questions  affect- 
ing their  own  personal  standing.  (Discipline  of  1893, 
pp.  43,  44.) 

3.  The  presiding  elder  of  the  district  is  the  president 
of  the  quarterly  conference ;  if  he  is  not  present,  a  pre- 
siding elder  pro  tern,  shall  be  elected.     Bishops'  ruling 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  2>3 

in  1873  (Minutes,  p.  i):  "In  the  absence  of  the  presiding 
elder  of  a  district,  has  an  elder,  upon  the  invitation  of 
one  or  more  members  of  the  church,  a  legal  right  to 
appoint  and  hold  a  quarterly- conference?  Answer,  'No.' 
The  Discipline  provides  that  in  the  absence  of  the 
presiding  elder  the  quarterl}^  conference  shall  elect 
a  presiding  elder  ;^r^  ^em.'' 

4.  A  presiding  elder  may  not,  by  virtue  of  his  ofQce, 
hold  a  quarterly  conference  on  a  district  other  than  his 
own,  unless  elected  presiding  elder  pro  tevi.  His  acts 
would  be  illegal.  Bishops'  ruling  in  1883  (Minutes,  p. 
41):  "If  a  presiding  elder  be  called  upon  to  hold  a 
quarterly  conference  in  a  district  other  than  his  own,  in 
the  same  or  an  adjoining  conference,  he  must  be  elected 
presiding  elder  pi'O  tern.;  otherwise  his  acts  are  not 
legal." 

5.  The  powers  and  functions  of  the  quarterly  confer- 
ence as  herein  detailed  are  set  forth  in  the  Discipline  of 
1893,  under  Chapter  V.,  Section  5. 

( 1 )  It  elects  its  own  secretary. 

( 2 )  It  inquires  into  the  moral  and  ofi&cial  character 
of  its  members. 

( 3 )  On  stations,  at  the  third  quarterly  conference  it 
shall  elect  a  church  treasurer. 

(4)  It  is  required  to  enforce  discipline  in  all  the 
classes  wathin  its  jurisdiction,  but  may  not  disorganize 
a  class  except  as  per  Discipline.  (Chapter  V.,  Section  i, 
of  Discipline,  1893.) 

( 5 )  It  receives  the  reports  of  stewards  and  settles 
with  the  pastor. 

(6)  It  hears  and  tries  appeals,  references,  and  com- 
plaints, but  ma}'  not  either  suspend  or  expel  one  of  its 
members  prior  to  a  committee  trial. 

(7)  It  has  authority  to  grant  license  to  preach  or 
exhort,  and  to  recommend  quarterl}'  conference  preachers 

o 


34  MANUAL  OF  UNITED  BRETHREN 

to  the  annual  conference  for  license  to  preach,  and  also 
to  renew  exhorter's  and  quarterly  conference  preacher's 
license  annuall3^  all  of  which  must  be  done  in  accord 
with  disciplinary  regulations  on  the  subject. 

( 8 )  The  quarterly  conference  may  grant  a  permanent 
license  to  a  quarterly  conference  preacher  who  has  com- 
pleted the  course  of  reading  prescribed  in  the  Discipline, 
or  it  may  excuse  from  the  course  of  reading  a  quarterly 
conference  preacher  who  has  attained  to  the  years  of  fift3^ 

(9)  It  should  appoint  a  general  steward,  at  its  last 
session  in  each  year,  for  the  charge,  and  also,  in  the  case 
of  circuits  and  missions,  an  estimating  committee  for 
the  charge  shall  be  appointed  at  the  same  time. 

(10)  The  quarterly  conference  should  inquire  care- 
fully into  the  condition  of  each  Sabbath  school  on  the 
charge  and  remove  any  superintendent  who  may  prove 
to  be  unworthy  or  inefficient,  as  the  Discipline  requires." 

6.  The  presiding  elder  must  appoint  the  time  of 
holding  the  quarterly  conference,  but  the  quarterly  con- 
ference must  appoint  the  place  of  meeting ;  but  should 
the  quarterly  conference  neglect  or  refuse  to  select  the 
place,  then  the  presiding  elder  and  pastor  of  the  charge 
must  select  it.  Bishops'  ruling  of  1883  ( Minutes,  p.  45) : 
"  If  a  quarterly  conference  refuses  or  neglects  to  select  a 
place  for  holding  its  next  session,  the  presiding  elder, 
in  consultation  with  the  preacher  in  charge,  may  select 
such  place." 

7.  A  quarterly  conference  may  adjourn  from  time  to 
time  to  finish  any  pending  business  ;  but  it  may  not 
adjourn  to  a  distant  day  to  take  up  new  business  which 
belongs  to  a  future  quarterly  conference.  Bishops'  rul- 
ings in  1883  (Minutes,  p.  46):  "A  quarterly  conference 
may  adjourn  before  all  its  regular  business  is  transacted 
to  a  time  and  place  where  it  may  meet  to  finish  up  its 
work." 


CHURCH    DISCIPLINE  35 

8.  The  presiding  elder  may  adjourn  the  quarterly 
conference  over  which  he  presides,  when  in  his  judg- 
ment all  the  regular  business  of  the  session  prescribed 
by  the  Discipline  has  been  transacted  ;  but  if  the  confer- 
ence takes  exception  to  his  adjourning  it,  the  exception 
must  be  placed  on  the  minutes.  Bishops'  ruling  in 
1884  (Minutes,  p.  50):  "When  a  quarterly  conference 
refuses  to  adjourn  after  all  the  regular  business  has 
been  finished,  the  presiding  elder  may  adjourn  said 
body." 

9.  The  rulings  of  the  presiding  elder  must  be  the 
basis  of  the  actions  of  the  quarterly  conference.  On 
questions  of  church  law,  it  cannot  overrule  his  decisions, 
but  can  record  in  its  minutes  its  objections  to  his 
rulings,  and  take  an  appeal  to  the  annual  conference. 
Bishops'  rulings :  In  1879  (Minutes,  p.  26) :  "A  quarterly 
conference  cannot  overrule  the  decisions  of  a  presiding 
elder  on  questions  of  church  law.  Its  resource  is  an 
appeal  to  the  constituted  authorities  of  the  Church, 
whose  duty  it  is  to  decide  law  questions."  Also,  1883 
(Minutes,  p.  46) :  "A  quarterly  conference  cannot  over- 
rule the  decisions  of  a  presiding  elder  on  church  law,  but 
may  on  parliamentary  laws." 

10.  The  minutes  of  the  quarterly  conference  should 
be  read  and  approved  at  the  close  of  the  session,  but  if 
this  be  forgotten  or  neglected,  it  does  not  vitiate  the 
minutes.  But  they  cannot  be  approved  at  a  subsequent 
session.  The  unrecorded  actions  of  a  conference  are  of 
no  authority.  Bishops'  ruling  in  1884  (Minutes,  p.  50): 
"The  failure  of  a  quarterly  or  an  annual  conference  to 
approve  its  minutes  does  not  make  void  the  acts  of  the 
conference,  but  only  shows  neglect  upon  the  part  of  the 
conference." 

11.  A  member  of  a  quarterly  conference  whose  char- 
acter is  arrested  by  said  conference  may  not  be  held  in 


36  MANUAL   OF   UNITED   BRETHREN 

arrest  a  second  time  for  the  same  charges  by  a  subse- 
quent quarterl}^  conference,  unless  his  accusers  can  give 
a  satisfactory  reason  why  they  did  not  prosecute  his 
case.  Bishops'  ruling  in  1874  (Minutes,  p.  7) :  "When 
the  character  of  a  member  of  quarterly  conference  is 
arrested  by  said  conference  and  his  accusers  do  not  take 
measures  for  his  trial  according  to  Discipline,  he  shall 
not  be  held  in  arrest  by  a  subsequent  quarterly  confer- 
ence unless  his  accusers  be  able  to  give  to  the  conference 
satisfactory^  reasons  why  they  did  not  prosecute  the  case. ' ' 

12.  The  Discipline  of  the  Church  recognizes  the  fact 
that  a  person  may  be  a  member  of  at  least  two  quarterly 
conferences  at  the  same  time,  the  one  by  residence,  and 
the  other  by  holding  office.  In  all  such  cases  such  per- 
son or  persons  are  amenable  to  the  quarterly  conference 
where  they  hold  office  only  for  their  official  conduct ; 
for  their  moral,  to  the  quarterly  conference  where  they 
reside.  Bishops'  ruling  in  1879  ( Minutes,  p.  25) :  "When 
persons  are  members  of  two  quarterly  conferences,  the 
one  by  residence  and  the  other  by  holding  office,  they 
are  amenable  to  the  latter  for  their  official  conduct  only." 

13.  The  following  are  the  rulings  of  the  Board  of 
Bishops  relative  to  the  functions  of  a  presiding  elder  in 
so  far  as  he  is  connected  with  the  quarterl}^  conference 
as  its  president :  In  1877  (Minutes,  p.  16) :  "As  to  the 
right  of  a  quarterly  conference  to  vote  whether  the  laws 
of  the  Church  shall  be  obeyed  or  not,  nobod}'  in  the 
Church  has  the  right  to  sa}^  whether  or  not  it  will  obey 
law.  We  are  all  bound  to  obedience.  It  is  not  in  order, 
therefore,  for  a  presiding  elder  to  put  such  a  question  to 
the  quarterly  conference.  Voting  in  case  of  that  kind 
amounts  to  nothing."  In  1883  (Minutes,  p.  45):  "A 
presiding  elder  may  not  leave  the  chair  while  his 
quarterly  conference  is  in  session  without  calling  some 
one  to  the  chair ;  and  if  he  leave  the  room  with  the 


CHURCH   DISCIPUNE  T^] 

chair  vacant,  the  quarterly  conference  may  elect  a 
presiding  elder  pro  tern.,  who  shall  proceed  with  the 
business  of  the  conference  until  he  returns";  "When 
complaints  are  presented  to  the  quarterly  conference 
against  the  presiding  elder,  during  the  investigation  he 
may  not  preside,  but  should  call  some  one  to  the  chair 
until  the  case  is  disposed  of;  but  should  he  not  call 
some  one  to  the  chair,  the  quarterly  conference  may 
elect  a  chairman  pro  tern.,  who  shall  preside  during  the 
investigation.  Nor  may  any  member  of  a  quarterly 
conference  preside  while  complaints  against  himself 
are  being  investigated."  In  1883  (INIinutes,  p.  46): 
"Should  the  quarterly  conference  refuse  to  pass  the 
character  of  a  presiding  elder,  he  may  proceed  with 
the  business  of  the  conference,  in  that  he  is  innocent  in 
the  eyes  of  the  law  until  proved  guilty."  In  1883 
(Minutes,  p.  44) :  "When  the  character  of  a  presiding 
elder  has  been  arrested  by  a  quarterly  conference  to 
which  he  is  amenable,  and  charges  formulated,  the 
annual  conference  may  not  pass  his  character  without 
first  investigating  said  charges."  In  1883  (Minutes,  p. 
47):  "A  presiding  elder  dissatisfied  with  the  action 
of  a  quarterly  conference  may  appeal  to  the  annual 
conference  the  same  as  an}^  other  member  of  the 
quarterl 3' conference."  In  1877  (INIinutes,  p.  17):  "As 
to  the  right  of  a  presiding  elder  to  call  extra  sessions 
of  quarterly  conference,  as  the  Discipline  empowers 
the  presiding  elder  to  appoint  the  quarterly  conference, 
he  may  call  extra  sessions  when  he  deems  it  to  the 
interest  of  the  church  to  do  so." 

14.  Bishops'  ruling  in  1880  on  the  reading  of  the 
names  of  members  delinquent  in  pastor's  salary  before 
the  quarterly  conference  (Minutes,  p.  29):  "The 
Discipline  does  not  require  the  reading  before  the  quar- 
terly conference  of  the  names  of  members  who  pay  or  do 


38  MANUAI.  OF  UNITED   BRETHREN 

not  pay  to  the  support  of  the  preacher;  but  it  is  the 
prerogative  of  the  quarterly  conference  to  order  such 
reading  where  it  is,  deemed  advisable  to  do  so." 

Section  IV.—  Class. 

1.  It  is  not  definitely  known  when  and  where 
the  first  class  was  organized  in  the  history  of  our 
denomination,  and  who  w^as  its  first  leader,  but  it  is 
highly  probable  that  prayer-  and  class-meetings  had 
their  rise  early  in  the  beginning  of  our  historic  life. 

2.  A  class  ma}'  consist  of  five  or  more  members.  It 
elects  its  own  leader,  annually,  from  among  the  mem- 
bers of  the  class,  or  of  some  other  class.  This  election 
shall  be  held  immediately  preceding  the  annual  con- 
ference. But  where  a  class  for  children  is  organized 
the  pastor  of  the  congregation  shall  appoint  the  leader. 

3.  While  the  Discipline  of  the  Church  makes  it  the 
duty  of  the  pastor  to  "  hold  a  meeting  of  the  class  and 
see  that  a  class-leader  is  elected,"  yet  such  meeting  may 
be  held  and  election  had  when  it  is  impracticable  for  the 
pastor  to  be  present.  Ruling  of  bishops,  1882  (  Minutes, 
P-  33)'-  "The  election  of  class  officers  may  be  held  in 
the  absence  of  the  preacher  in  charge  when  it  is  not 
convenient  for  him  to  be  present  at  such  election." 

4.  The  Discipline  does  not  recognize  the  office  of 
assistant  class-leader,  but  a  member  may  be  asked  to 
assivSt  the  leader  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties  ;  3^et  this 
would  not  constitute  him  a  member  of  the  quarterly 
conference,  or  of  the  official  board.  Bishops'  ruling  in 
1886  (Minutes,  p.  55):  "Where  a  class  elects  a  class- 
leader  and  an  assistant,  the  leader  only  is  a  member  of 
the  quarterly  conference." 

5.  When  it  is  deemed  advisable,  a  class  may  be  di- 
vided by  a  committee  elected  for  that  purpose  by  the  local 
church,  consisting  of  the  preacher  in  charge  and  one  or 


CHURCH   DISCIPIvINE  39 

more  members  of  the  society.  A  class  also  may  be 
abandoned  when  it  becomes  impracticable  to  keep  up 
the  organization.     (Discipline  of  1893,  p.  39.) 

6.  Class  officers  are  elected  annually,  and  enter  upon 
their  term  of  office  with  the  opening  of  the  conference 
year  and  continue  until  its  close.  Bishops'  ruling  in 
1877  (Minutes,  p.  26):  "Class  officers  commence  their 
term  of  service  with  the  conference  year  and  continue 
till  its  close." 

7.  The  report  of  the  revision  of  the  church  records, 
whether  by  the  official  members  of  the  class,  or,  on 
stations,  by  the  official  board,  must  be  submitted  to  the 
class  for  approval  or  rejection.  This  must  be  done  at 
least  one  month  before  the  sitting  of  the  annual  confer- 
ence, %nd  no  name  shall  be  erased  from  the  records  until 
the  disciplinary  steps  have  been  taken.  (Discipline, 
1893,  p.  83.)  Bishops'  ruling  in  1887  (Minutes,  p.  63): 
' '  By  official  members  of  a  class  is  meant  the  leader  and 
steward  of  the  class,  and  that  the  revision  is  to  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  class  for  its  approval." 

8.  It  has  been  the  earnest  intent  of  the  legislative 
department  of  the  Church  to  so  adjust  its  legislation 
that  each  member,  however  humble,  should  not  only 
discharge  his  part  of  financial  dut}^  but  also  have  a 
voice  in  saying  how  much  and  in  what  w^ay  he  will 
choose  to  pa}'.  Hence,  after  the  apportionment  has 
been  made  to  the  class  by  the  constituted  authorities  in 
the  Discipline,  the  apportionment  goes  back  to  the  class, 
whose  duty  it  is,  on  the  call  of  the  leader  or  steward,  to 
hold  a  meeting  and  appoint  a  committee  to  make  a  dis- 
tribution of  the  apportionment  to  the  members  severallj^ 
according  to  their  ability,  to  be  paid  quarterly  or  weekly  ; 
but  it  is  the  privilege  of  each  class  to  collect  the  amount 
apportioned  to  it  by  subscription  or  otherwise,  as  it  may 
elect. 


40  MANUAI.  OF  UNITED  BRETHREN 

9.  No  other  committee  or  board  has  any  authority  to 
make  an  assessment  on  the  members  of  a  class.  The 
committee  appointed,  as  per  Discipline  of  1893  (p  47, 
Sec.  17),  has  the  sole  right  to  do  so.  Moreover,  mem- 
bers dissatisfied  with  their  assessment  may  appeal 
to  the  class  for  redress.  Bishops'  ruling  in  1883  (Min- 
utes, p.  47):  "A  member  dissatisfied  with  his  assess- 
ment made  by  the  assessing  committee  may  appeal  to 
the  class  for  redress." 

Section  V.—  Class-Leaders. 

1.  The  leader  of  a  class  should  be  an  intelligent  and 
devout  Christian.  He  should  be  well  versed  in  the 
Scriptures,  and  his  life  should  be  a  worthy  example  to 
his  class.  Natural  as  well  as  acquired  endowments  are 
essential  in  a  leader. 

2.  The  duties  of  a  class-leader  are  many  and  varied, 
and  to  the  man  of  God  a  fruitful  field  of  usefulness  in 
the  Church  is  here  opened.     It  is  his  business : 

( 1 )  To  meet  his  class  in  prayer-  or  class-meeting  as 
often  as  practicable,  speak  to  his  members  of  their 
Christian  life,  and  exhort  them  to  unit}^  and  love.  Also, 
he  shall  extend  the  privileges  of  his  meetings  to  all 
well-disposed  persons. 

(2)  He  shall  visit  both  the  sick  and  delinquent 
members  of  his  class  and  encourage  them  in  the  Chris- 
tian life. 

( 3 )  He  shall  keep  a  record  of  his  members,  of  the 
deaths,  expulsions,  and  removals,  in  a  book  provided 
for  that  purpose,  and  report  the  condition  of  his  class 
to  his  quarterly  conference. 

Thus  the  leader's  duties  are  defined  in  the  Discipline 
of  1893  (pp.  39,  40),  and  upon  the  full  and  faithful  dis- 
charge of  his  duties  depends  in  a  high  degree  the  spirit 
and  power  of  religion  in  his  class. 


CHURCH   DISCIF'.INE  4I 

(4)  It  is  made  the  further  duty  of  the  leader,  in 
Discipline  of  1893,  page  34,  under  Section  3,  to  be  the 
prosecutor  of  an  offender  who  violates  this  Section  3, 
in  case  of  a  trial,  but  should  the  leader  be  the  offender, 
the  class-steward  shall  act  as  prosecutor.  Bishops' 
ruling,  1890  (Minutes,  p.  73):  "In  cases  of  trial  of 
members  for  '  imprudent  conduct,  indulging  in  sinful 
temper  or  words,  or  disobedience  to  the  order  and  Dis- 
cipline of  the  Church,'  if  the  leader  refuses  'to  act  in 
behalf  of  the  local  church,'  the  quarterly  conference 
having  jurisdiction  in  the  case  shall  appoint  a  prose- 
cutor." 

Section  VI.— Stewards. 

1.  Our  church  law  recognizes  three  classes  of  stew- 
ards, namely:  a  class-steward,  a  presiding  elder  stew- 
ard, and  a  general  church  steward.  The  Discipline 
does  not  say  how  many  stewards  a  class  may  have ;  its 
statement  is,  "  one  or  more,  who  shall  be  chosen  as  pro- 
vided" in  Discipline  of  1893,  page  84. 

( 1 )  The  steward  or  stewards  are  to  be  appointed  by 
the  pastor  of  the  congregation,  in  connection  with  the 
leader  and  steward  of  each  class,  at  the  time  the  records 
are  revised. 

(2)  If  for  any  reason  the  appointments  are  not  made 
at  the  time  of  the  revision,  thej^  shall  be  made  at  the 
earliest  possible  subsequent  meeting. 

(3)  The  appointment  of  steward  or  stewards  thus 
made  must  be  submitted  to  the  class  for  approval  or 
rejection ;  if  rejected  by  the  class,  another  appointment 
must  be  made  in  like  manner. 

2.  The  duties  of  the  class-steward  are: 

( 1 )  To  collect  funds  for  the  pastor's  support  quarterly 
or  oftener. 

( 2 )  To  keep  an  accurate  account  of  the  amount  paid 
by  each  member  of  the  class. 


42  MANUAL   OF  UNITED  BRETHREN 

(3)  To  report  the  same  with  the  name  and  amount 
to  each  quarterly  conference  or  session  of  the  official 
board. 

(4)  The  steward  shall  provide  the  elements  of  the 
sacrament,  securing  only  unfermented  wine. 

3.  Presiding  elder  stewards,  "one  or  more"  from 
each  class  on  the  charge,  may  be  appointed  b}-  the  pastor, 
when  and  where  it  is  deemed  advisable  to  collect  the 
presiding  elder's  salary,  who  shall  report  all  moneys  thus 
collected  to  the  quarterly  conference. 

4.  The  general  steward  for  the  charge  is  appointed 
by  the  quarterly  conference  at  its  last  session  in  each 
year.     His  duties  are  : 

( 1 )  To  assist  the  class-steward  in  securing  the  pas- 
tor's salary.  Bishops'  ruling  in  1879  (Minutes,  p.  26) : 
"  It  is  the  duty  of  circuit  stewards  to  visit  the  different 
classes  on  the  charge  as  often  as  may  be  necessary',  and 
assist  by  counsel  and  otherwise  the  class-stewards  to 
secure  the  preacher's  salary." 

( 2 )  To  receive  and  audit  the  stewards'  reports. 
( 3  )     He  may  also  be  the  church  treasurer. 

5.  These  church  officers,  nameh^  class-leader,  class- 
steward,  presiding  elder  .steward,  general  steward,  and 
also  superintendent  of  Sabbath  school,  are  all  amenable 
to  the  quarterly  conference  for  their  official  actions,  and 
may  be  dismissed  from  office  for  delinquency'.  Bishops' 
ruling  in  1887  (  Minutes,  p.  62):  "In  case  of  delinquency, 
as  per  Discipline,  upon  the  part  of  a  class-leader,  a  class- 
vSteward,  a  presiding  elder  steward,  a  general  steward, 
or  a  superintendent  of  Sabbath  school,  the  quarterly 
conference  may  dismiss  him  for  said  delinquency. 

Section  VII.— Official  Board  for  Stations. 

The  official  board  is  quite  modern  with  us,  and  grew 
out  of  the  complications  and  the  necessities  of  station 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  43 

work,  as  compared  with  circuit  or  mission  work.  Hence 
the  slight  difference  in  the  powers  of  the  ofl&ciary  of  a 
station  and  that  of  a  circuit  or  a  mission,  the  former 
being  more  extended  and  invested  with  broader  duties 
than  the  latter, 

1.  The  members  of  the  official  board  are  the  legal 
members  of  the  quarterly  conference. 

2.  The  pastor  of  the  charge  is  the  president  of  the 
official  board.  In  the  president's  absence  a  president 
pro  tem.  shall  be  elected  in  the  person  of  one  of  the 
members. 

3.  It  shall  elect  a  secretary,  who  shall  keep  a  record 
of  all  its  actions. 

4.  The  treasurer  of  the  board,  who  may  be  the  gen- 
eral steward  of  the  charge,  shall  — 

( I )  Receive  all  mone^^s  collected  from  the  class- 
stewards  or  otherwise. 

(  2  )     He  shall  receipt  for  all  moneys  thus  received. 

(3 )  He  shall  pay  out  all  moneys  in  his  hands  only  as 
the  official  board  may  direct. 

5.  All  subscriptions  and  nione3's  received  and  dis- 
bursed in  the  interest  of  the  station  must  be  reported  to 
the  official  meeting  as  soon  as  possible  by  the  persons 
intrusted  Vv'ith  said  mone}'  and  subscriptions,  whether 
trustees,  stewards,  the  treasurer,  or  other  persons. 

6.  This  board  is  the  estimating  committee  of  the 
charge,  unless  ordered  otherwise  b}"  the  quarterly  con- 
ference, and  as  such  its  duties  are  : 

( I )  To  meet  the  pastor,  as  soon  as  practicable  after 
the  sitting  of  the  annual  conference,  and  make  an  esti- 
mate of  the  expenses  of  the  station  for  the  year :  (  ) 
pastor's  salary;  {b)  presiding  elder's  salary;  {c)  sex- 
ton's hire  ;  {d)  cost  of  light  and  fuel ;  {e)  insurance,  and 
any  other  ordinary  expenses  incident  to  the  year's 
account. 


44  MANUAL  OF   DISCIPLINE 

(2)  It  shall  determine  how  these  funds  are  to  be 
secured :  (a)  whether  by  assessments  or  subscriptions, 
by  weekly  envelope  collections  or  by  the  class-stewards 
or  by  both;  (d)  what  per  cent,  is  to  be  devoted  to 
preacher's  and  presiding  elder's  salaries,  and  what  per 
cent,  to  the  current  expenses  of  the  charge. 

(3)  But  it  may  not  levy  an  assessment  on  the  indi- 
vidual members  of  the  charge ;  that  is  the  right  of  the 
class  committee  only. 

7.  The  official  board  must  meet  monthly,  or  oftener 
if  needs  be,  and  its  records  must  be  submitted  to  the 
quarterly  conference  for  examination  and  approval  or 
rejection. 

8.  While  the  Discipline  does  not  require  it,  yet  we 
believe  it  would  be  a  wise  regulation  for  the  estimating 
committee  on  each  charge  to  hold  a  preliminary  meeting 
immediately  preceding  the  sitting  of  the  annual  confer- 
ence, and  make  an  estimate  of  the  expenses  of  the 
charge,  including  a  good  support  of  the  preacher  for 
the  ensuing  year,  and  what  the  charge  will  be  able  to 
pay  towards  those  expenses,  and  send  this  estimate 
to  the  annual  conference  with  the  lay  delegate,  directed 
to  the  presiding  elder  of  the  district. 


CHAPTER  III. 

MINISTERS. 
Section  I.— Bishops. 

I.  In  the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in  ChrivSt,  a 
bishop  is  constituted  solely  by  election,  as  provided  by 
the  Constitution  and  Discipline  of  the  Church. 

2      The  bishops'  duties  are  : 

( 1 )  To  announce  as  soon  as  possible  the  number  of 
delegates  to  which  "each  conference  shall  be  entitled, 
as  appearing  from  the  statistics  of  the  annual  conferences 
at  the  end  of  the  third  year  of  the  term." 

(2)  To  arrange  the  time  of  holding  of  all  the  con- 
ferences, and  to  determine  who  shall  preside  at  each 
conference. 

(3)  To  preside  over  the  conferences,  and  strictly 
examine  into  the  moral  and  official  character  of  the 
members  of  the  annual  conferences  in  the  bounds  of 
their  districts,  and  insist  that  all  the  laws  of  the  Church 
be  faithfully  observed. 

(4)  To  assist  in  stationing  the  pastors  and  presiding 
eiders,  as  per  Discipline. 

(5)  To  perform  the  right  of  ordination  under  disci- 
plinary regulations. 

(  6 )  To  hold  annual  meetings.  They  may  meet  oftener 
if  need  be,  and  decide  questions  of  discipline  and  adopt 
measures  of  uniformity  of  administration.  They  may 
also  appoint  fast  and  thanksgiving  seasons,  to  be  ob- 
served by  the  denomination. 

(7)  A  bishop,  in  conjunction  with  the  Board  of 
Missions,  may  organize  a  mission  conference. 

45 


46  MANUAI,   OF  UNITED   BRETHREN 

(8)  He  shall  take  a  missionary  collection  and  sub- 
scription at  each  of  his  conferences. 

(9)  The  bishops  shall  devote  as  much  time  as  is 
consistent  with  their  other  duties  to  the  mission  work. 

(10)  They  shall  look  after  the  financial  and  educa- 
tional interests  of  the  Church. 

(11)  Each  bishop  shall  publish  annually,  in  the 
Religious  Telescope  and  the  Frdhliche  Botschafter,  a 
report  of  his  district. 

(12)  The  bishops  shall  arrange  for  the  delivery  of  a 
suitable  sermon  to  the  preachers  at  each  annual  con- 
ference. 

(13)  The  bishop  last  presiding  at  a  conference  is  the 
superintendent  of  that  conference  for  the  ensuing  year. 
(Discipline,  1893,  p.  75.) 

3.  For  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  duties,  a  bishop 
is  amenable  to  the  Church,  and  cannot  retain  his  office 
if  he  neglects  to  discharge  them. 

Section  II.— Presiding  Elders. 

1 .  While  it  is  quite  probable  that  the  office  of  presiding 
elder  existed  in  the  denomination  as  early  as  1800,  and 
perhaps  prior  to  that  date,  yet  it  is  quite  certain  that 
his  duties  were  not  specifically  defined  until  1815  or  even 
a  later  date. 

2.  For  the  election,  support,  stationing,  and  duties  of 
presiding  elders,  see  Discipline  of  1893,  pages  68-70. 

3.  If,  on  account  of  death,  resignation,  suspension,  or 
any  other  cause,  a  district  be  without  a  presiding  elder, 
the  bishop  of  the  district  shall  appoint  an  elder  to  fill 
the  vacancy  iintil  the  ensuing  annual  conference. 

4.  A  presiding  elder  may  change  the  pastors  in  his 
district ;  only,  however,  in  conjunction  with  two  elders, 
preachers,  or  exhorters  (one  from  each  circuit). 

5.  In  conjunction  with  the  quarterly  conference,  a 


CHURCH   DISCIPIvINB  47 

presiding  elder  ma}^  dismiss  a  pastor  for  inefl&ciency  or 
neglect  of  duty.     (Discipline,  1893,  pp.  7-11.) 

6.  The  presiding  elders  of  mission  conferences  or 
districts  are  required  to  make  quarterly  reports  of  the 
state  of  their  missions  within  their  jurisdictions  to  the 
corresponding  secretar}^  of  the  Missionary  Society. 

7.  Should  a  charge  be  left  without  a  pastor  by  the 
stationing  committee,  or  should  a  charge  become  vacant 
during  the  interim  of  the  sittings  of  the  annual  confer- 
ence from  any  cause  whatever,  the  presiding  elder  of 
the  district  shall  appoint  a  pastor  to  said  charge. 

8.  The  following  are  the  rulings  of  the  Board  of 
Bishops  as  to  some  of  the  functions  and  prerogatives 
of  a  presiding  elder — -what  he  may  do  and  may  not  do  : 

(i)  "That  the  presiding  elder  refused  to  act  upon 
charges  presented  against  an  annual  conference  member 
when  legally  brought  up.  The  presiding  elder  has  not 
the  right  to  suppress  such  charges  at  his  own  discretion, 
but  is  bound  to  give  the  parties  a  hearing.  This  is 
deemed  to  be  the  law  in  the  case."    (1877,  Minutes,  p.  18.) 

(  2 )  "A  presiding  elder,  when  generall}-  regarded  as  a 
strong  partisan,  ought  not  sit  as  presiding  officer  on 
trial  of  a  minister."     (1879,  Minutes,  p.  26.) 

(3)  "A  presiding  elder  may  not  prohibit  a  preacher 
in  charge  of  a  field  of  labor  on  his  district  from  acting 
according  to  his  judgment  in  administering  the  affairs 
of  his  charge.  He  may  and  should  advise  him."  (1883, 
Minutes,  p.  42.) 

(4)  "When  a  minister  is  accused  or  charges  are 
preferred,  the  presiding  elder  may  not  receive  testimony 
or  pass  sentence  in  the  case  before  the  accused  has  had 
a  hearing."     (1883,  Minutes,  p.  43.) 

(5)  "When  a  member  of  an  annual  conference  is 
accused,  the  presiding  elder  may  not  suspend  him 
within  fifteen  days,  as  per  Discipline,  or  before  the  day 


48  MANUAL   OF   UNITED   BRETHREN 

set  for  trial,  unless  he  has  proof  that  he  (the  accused) 
has  neglected  or  refused  to  choose  his  committeeman." 
(1883,  Minutes,  p.  43-) 

(6)  "  When  a  member  of  an  annual  conference  is  sus- 
pended by  the  presiding  elder,  said  presiding  elder  may 
not  lift  the  suspension,  but  the  annual  conference  shall 
take  up  the  case  and  dispose  of  it  'according  to  the 
judgment  of  the  conference.'"     (1883,  Minutes,  p.  44.) 

(7)  "A  presiding  elder  is  amenable  only  to  the 
quarterly  conference  where  the  act  is  committed  if 
committed  on  his  own  district.  For  acts  committed 
outside  of  his  own  district  he  is  amenable  to  the  quar- 
terly conference  where  he  lives."  (1882,  Minutes,  p.  35.) 

Section  III.— Preachers. 

1.  While  the  Discipline  of  the  Church  recognizes  but 
two  orders  in  our  ministry,  elders  and  unordained  men, 
yet  it  provides  for  the  division  of  annual  conference 
preachers  into  classes : 

(i)  Local  preachers.  To  this  class  belong  all  who 
have  not  been  admitted  to  the  itinerancy  or  have  with- 
drawn or  been  dismissed  from  the  itinerancy. 

(2)  Itinerant  preachers.  To  this  class  belong  all 
who  have  been  received  regularly  into  the  itinerancy, 
and  is  composed  of  the  three  classes  set  forth  in 
Discipline  of  1893,  page  65,  nameh',  itinerant,  super- 
annuated, and  supernumerary  preachers.  Hence,  in 
order  to  be  either  a  superannuated  or  supernumerary 
preacher,  he  mUvSt  belong  to  the  itinerancy. 

2.  But  as  it  relates  to  the  duties  in  general  of  the 
preachers  in  the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in 
Christ,  they  apply  about  alike  to  each,  no  difference  to 
which  class  he  belongs.     The  duties  in  brief  are : 

( 1 )  To  preach  the  word. 

(2)  To  form  classes. 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  49 

( 3 )  To  do  the  work  of  an  evangelist. 

(4)  To  administer  reliei  to  the  needy. 

(5)  To  strengthen  the  weak  and  direct  the  tempted. 

(6)  To  visit  the  sick. 

(7)  In  a  word,  to  lead  the  wicked  and  the  worldly  to 
a  knowledge  of  Christ.  It  is  the  duty  ot  all  preachers, 
whether  local  or  itinerant,  to  strive  to  enlarge  the 
borders  of  Christ's  kingdom,  to  spread  scriptural  holi- 
ness, and  to  report  to  their  respective  annual  conferences 
the  number  of  new  appointments  established. 

3.  (i)  A  preacher  may  not  trespass  by  arbitrarily 
forming  a  charge  within  the  limits  of  either  a  pastorate 
or  presiding  elder's  district,  nor  may  he  receive  compen- 
sation for  labor  performed  on  another  preacher's  charge 
without  the  consent  of  the  preacher  in  charge.  See 
Discipline  of  1893,  page  80;  also,  bishops'  ruling  in  1882 
(Minutes,  p.  34):  "  It  is  contrary  to  the  letter  and  spirit 
of  our  Church  Discipline  for  a  preacher  to  establish  or 
take  up  an  appointment  within  the  bounds  of  a  circuit  or 
station  occupied  by  one  of  our  preachers  sent  by  the  an- 
nual conference  without  his  consent,  even  if  they  be  called 
visiting  sermons  ;  and  in  case  a  minister  in  our  Church 
should  thus  interfere,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  presiding 
elder  and  quarterly  conference  to  admonish  said  inter- 
fering brother  minister  to  desist  from  such  interference." 

(2)  Nor  may  any  number  of  our  church  members 
arbitrarily  form  themselves  into  a  separate  church  or- 
ganization within  the  pastorate  of  one  of  our  preachers 
and  call  a  pastor.  Bishops'  ruling  in  1887  ( Minutes,  p. 
62):  "In  case  a  number  of  our  church  members 
arbitrarily  form  themselves  into  a  separate  church 
organization  within  the  pastorate  of  one  of  our  preachers, 
and  employ  a  pastor,  they  are  in  a  state  of  insubordina- 
tion, and,  if  persisted  in,  it  will  be  competent  for  the 
annual  conference  to  declare  them  out  of  our  Church." 


50  MANUAI.  OF  UNITED  BRETHREN 

Section  IV.— Itinerants  and  Their  Duties. 

1.  The  term  "itinerant"  is  applied  to  an  annual 
conference  preacher  whose  qualifications  are  as  follows: 

( 1 )  He  must  offer  himself  to  travel  without  reserve. 

(2)  He  must  labor  two  years  under  disciplinary- 
regulations  before  he  is  eligible  to  the  itinerancy. 

(3)  He  must  be  received  as  an  itinerant  by  a  vote  of 
two-thirds  of  the  members  of  the  conference. 

2.  The  itinerants  are  assigned  to  their  respective 
charges  by  the  presiding  bishop  of  the  conference  and 
the  presiding  elders  of  the  past  and  present  3'ears  ;  and 
the  presiding  elders  are  stationed  by  the  bishop  and  two 
elders  or  preachers  elected  by  ballot  from  each  presiding 
elder's  district.  This  report  must  be  read  at  least  six 
hours  before  final  adjournment. 

3.  While  any  of  our  preachers,  even  quarterly  con- 
ference preachers,  may  be  assigned  to  a  charge,  yet  the 
preference  is  given  in  the  Discipline  to  the  itinerants. 
The  charges  of  a  conference,  in  so  far  as  it  is  practicable, 
must  be  supplied  from  the  itinerant  list.  Bishops' 
ruling  in  1883  (Minutes,  p.  39)  :  "  An  annual  conference 
cannot  by  resolution  prevent  the  stationing  committee 
or  presiding  elder  from  employing  ministers  in  its  body 
on  fields  of  labor  who  are  in  regular  standing  as  itiner- 
ants. All  such  attempts  upon  the  part  of  the  conference 
are  extra-judicial,  and  would  come  in  conflict  with  the 
law  of  the  Church,  which  provides  that  the  stationing 
committee  shall  determine  who  shall  be  employed." 

4.  Any  preacher  of  the  conference  dissatisfied  with 
the  report  of  the  stationing  committee  has  the  right  of 
appeal  to  the  annual  conference.  "If  two-thirds  grant 
the  appeal,  the  decision  is  final."  But  no  preacher 
stationed  can  be  changed  without  his  consent,  to  accom- 
modate him  who  has  taken  the  appeal. 

5.  The  first  duty  of  an  itinerant  preacher  is  to  take 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  5I 

the  charge  assigned  him  by  his  conference  and  to  reside 
on  it  if  at  all  practicable.  Thus,  as  "preacher  in  charge," 
it  is  his  duty:  (i)  to  attend  his  appointments  promptly, 
and  to  preach  to  the  people  ;  (  2)  to  hold  class-  or  prayer- 
meetings,  and  pay  strict  attention  to  the  organizing  and 
maintaining  of  young  people's  Christian  societies;  (3) 
under  disciplinary  regulations,  to  revise  the  church 
records  and  appoint  class-stewards,  and  also  to  hold  a 
meeting  of  the  class  and  have  a  cla.ss-leader  elected;  (4) 
to  preside  at  the  trial  of  any  of  his  members;  (5)  to 
be  active  in  circulating  all  our  Church  literature  and 
also  to  keep  a  record  of  the  names  of  subscribers  to  our 
periodicals  and  the  time  of  subscribing,  at  the  different 
appointments,  and  to  turn  them  over  to  his  successor 
with  the  list  of  his  appointments ;  (  6  )  to  make  a  report 
to  each  of  his  quarterly  conferences  of  the  condition  of 
his  work  and  the  number  of  subscribers  to  our  periodi- 
cals on  his  charge;  (7)  to  secure  a  church  record,  in 
which  to  register  all  the  appointments  and  classes  on 
his  charge,  with  the  name  of  each  member  attached  to 
his  class,  and  to  register  the  baptisms,  marriages, 
deaths,  and  proceedings  of  church  trials  under  disciplin- 
ar}^  regulations,  and  also  to  report  said  record  to  the  last 
quarterly  conference  of  each  year  for  approval  or  improve- 
ment ;  (  8  )  to  collect  the  annual  amount  apportioned  to 
his  charge  for  the  support  of  the  bishops  and  presiding 
elders,  and  all  other  conference  asseSvSments ;  (9)  to 
hold  a  general  missionary  meeting  at  a  convenient  place 
on  his  charge  and  preach  a  missionary  sermon  ;  to 
appoint  soliciting  committees,  who,  in  conjunction  with 
himself,  shall  canvass  the  church  and  community  and 
solicit  funds  for  the  Missionary  Society,  and  to  keep  a 
list  of  the  contributors'  names  and  report  the  same  to 
the  conference,  and  also  to  establish  monthly  missionary 
prayer-meetings    on   his  charge  wherever  practicable; 


52  MANUAL  OF  UNITED   BRETHREN 

( lo )  to  give  as  much  time  as  possible  to  visiting  the 
families  under  his  charge,  to  pay  strict  attention  to 
the  young  members  under  his  care,  and  to  direct  the 
attention  of  his  people  to  the  vital  importance  of  family 
government  and  Christian  training. 

6.  The  question,  Who  is  the  preacher  in  charge 
and  how  constituted?  is  not  unfrequently  asked.  A 
competent  answer  to  this  question  would  be :  The 
preacher  in  charge  is  one  who  has  been  assigned  to 
a  field  of  labor  b}-  the  regularh'  constituted  authorities 
of  the  Church  whose  duties  are  to  make  such  assign- 
ments under  disciplinary  regulations.  He  may  be  an 
elder,  a  licentiate  preacher,  or  a  quarterly  conference 
preacher;  any  one  thus  appointed  possesses  full  and 
equal  authority  as  "preacher  in  charge."  Bishops' 
ruling  of  1895:  "The  preacher  who  is  assigned  to  a 
circuit,  mission,  or  station,  b}"  the  stationing  committee 
of  an  annual  conference  or  the  presiding  elder  of  the 
district  under  the  provisions  of  the  Discipline,  is  the 
preacher  in  charge  of  the  field  to  which  he  has  been 
thus  assigned,  without  the  formalities  of  an  installa- 
tion." 

7.  Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper  are  recognized 
as  the  sacraments  of  the  Christian  church,  and  their 
observance  is  incumbent  upon  all  Christians,  but  the 
mode  of  baptism  and  the  manner  of  observing  the 
Lord's  Supper  are  always  to  be  left  to  the  conscience 
of  the  individual.  In  our  Book  of  Discipline  only 
ordained  elders  are  recognized  as  proper  persons  to 
administer  these  sacraments,  but  no  one  of  our  elders 
is  required  to  administer  them  in  a  manner  to  which  he 
is  conscientioush^  opposed.  Bishops'  ruling  in  1880 
(Minutes,  p.  30):  "A  minister  is  not  required  to 
administer  the  ordinance  of  Christian  baptism  in  a 
mode  to  which  he  is  conscientiously  opposed." 


CHURCH  DISCIPLINE  53 

8.  The  pastor  is  the  spiritual  guide  and  teacher  of 
the  church  to  which  he  ministers.  While  he  has  no 
priestly  right  to  deprive  his  people  of  the  privilege  and 
duty  of  judgment  and  liberty  of  deciding  all  moral 
questions,  he  must  faithfully  present  the  great  govern- 
ing principles  as  taught  by  Christ,  and  urge  the  duty 
of  individual  application.  Christianity  includes  mo- 
rality. Christian  citizenship  does  not  relieve  any  one 
from  his  duty  to  the  state.  Every  pastor  should  preach 
at  least  once  each  year  on  each  of  the  following  subjects: 

( 1 )  "  Temperance. ' ' 

(2)  ♦•  Social  Purity." 

(3)  ** The  Family." 

(4 )  '  •  The  Sunday  School. ' ' 

( 5 )  "  The  Duty  of  the  Christian  Citizen. ' ' 

( 6 )  "  Missions  :  Home  and  Foreign. ' ' 

( 7 )  "  Christian  Giving. ' ' 

(8)  "Moral  Reform." 

( 9 )  "  Young  People's  Work. '  * 

(10)  "Prayer." 

(11)  "Education." 

Section  V.— Ministers'  Salaries. 

"The  labourer  is  worthy  of  his  hire."  Compensation 
is  a  matter  of  vital  importance  in  all  departments  of 
labor ;  hence,  on  this  subject  the  Church  has  wisely 
legislated.  In  the  early  history  of  the  denomination  the 
salaries  of  ministers  were  fixed  by  disciplinary  regula- 
tions, but  that  state  of  things  has  wisely  passed  away. 

1.  The  salaries  of  the  bishops  are  fixed  by  the  Gen- 
eral Conference. 

2.  The  salaries  of  the  presiding  elders  are  determined 
by  the  respective  annual  conferences. 

3.  The  salaries  of  missionaries  employed  by  the  Board 
of  Missions  are  fixed  by  that  Board. 


54  MANUAI.   OF   UNITED   BRETHREN 

4.  The  salar}^  of  a  pastor  shall  be  the  amount  agreed 
upon  between  him  and  the  quarterl}^  conference  of  the 
charge  to  which  he  is  sent.  When  there  is  a  parsonage 
on  the  charge,  or  a  house  rented  for  a  parsonage  b}'  the 
charge,  the  pastor  shall  give  credit  to  his  field  on  salar}^ 
to  the  amount  of  the  rent  of  said  parsonage  or  house 
rented.  If  the  pastor  does  not  live  in  the  parsonage, 
he  is  entitled  to  the  rent,  but  the  charge  is  entitled  to 
credit  in  salarj^paid  to  the  amount  of  the  rent,  and  must 
be  so  reported. 

5.  Annual  conferences  must  provide  for  the  necessary 
wants  of  their  superannuated  preachers,  and  the  widows 
and  orphans  of  their  deceased  ministers. 

6.  Each  charge  shall,  at  its  own  expense,  provide 
a  house  and  move  the  preacher  sent  by  the  annual  con- 
ference. 

7.  Should  it  occur  that  the  preacher  in  charge  cannot 
serve  the  circuit,  mission,  or  station  to  which  he  has 
been  assigned  for  the  amount  of  compensation  it  is  able 
and  willing  to  pa^^  him,  he  shall  resign  the  charge.  He 
may  not  refuse  to  serve  the  congregation,  and  at  the  same 
time  refuse  to  resign  the  charge.'  Bishops'  ruling  in 
1879  (Minutes,  p.  2']^'.  "  AVhen  a  preacher  cannot  serve 
a  charge  for  what  the  people  are  willing  and  able  to  paj^ 
him,  it  is  his  duty  to  resign  the  charge.  If  he  refuses 
to  preach  for  them  and  also  to  resign,  it  is  the  dutj'  of 
the  presiding  elder  and  quarterly  conference  to  take 
such  action  as  they  may  think  best  for  the  interests  of 
the  work." 

8.  Sometimes  it  becomes  necessary  for  a  pastor  to 
resign  his  charge.  In  all  such  cases  the  pastor  * '  must 
first  inform  his  presiding  elder  of  his  intention  in  wTit- 
ing ' '  ;  and,  as  a  rule,  it  should  be  with  the  consent  of 
his  official  board  or  quarterly  conference.  A  resignation 
of  a  pastor  during  the  conference  3^ear  should  not  obtain 


CHURCH   DISCIPI.INE  55 

except  for  the  verj^  best  of  reasons.  Touching  the  com- 
pensation of  a  resigning  pastor,  the  bishops  have  made 
the  following  ruling  :  "A  pastor  in  charge  of  a  field  of 
labor,  resigning  said  field,  is  entitled  to  support  in 
proportion  to  the  time  served  and  the  work  done,  to 
be  determined  by  the  quarterl}'  conference  of  that  field." 
( 1892,  Minutes,  p.  ']'].) 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CHURCH  TRIALS. 
Section  I.— Trial  of  Members. 

I .  ( I )  No  SUBJECT  is  more  vital  to  the  pastor  and  to 
the  church  than  the  trial  of  church  members.  Having 
the  moral  and  religious  oversight  of  his  congregation, 
the  pastor  becomes  the  spiritual  father  to  each  member 
of  his  pastorate.  Men  go  wrong,  sometimes,  in  the 
church  as  well  as  out  of  it,  and  hence  to  discipline 
becomes  a  necessity.  To  faithfully  exhort,  to  adminis- 
ter needed  reproof,  to  restrain  the  rash,  to  protect  the 
innocent,  and  reclaim  the  erring,  all  of  which  belong  to 
the  duties  of  the  pastor,  cannot  always  be  done  without 
exciting  the  anger  and  inspiring  the  hatred  of  offending 
brethren. 

( 2  )  While  our  civil  constitution  guarantees  ' '  freedom 
to  worship  God"  to  all  her  citizens,  yet  civil  law  recog- 
nizes the  authority  of  ecclesiastical  law  and  its  right  to 
enforce  its  requirements  upon  those  who  have  subscribed 
to  its  covenant  vows.  While  the  church  does  not  assume 
to  inflict  any  civil  disability  or  impose  any  pecuniary 
fine  for  the  most  aggravating  violations  of  her  covenant 
vows,  yet  her  right  to  inquire  into  the  conduct  of  her 
members,  and  to  discipline  and  even  to  pass  votes  of 
expulsion,  and  to  record  her  proceedings  against  those 
who  have  violated  their  covenant  relations,  has  been 
fully  and  repeatedly  established  by  the  highest  civil 
authority.  But  the  civil  tribunal  requires  that  the 
proceedings  against  an  offending  member  be  in  strict 

56 


MANUAI.   OF   DISCIPUNE  57 

accord  with  the  usages  of  the  denomination,  and  con- 
ducted in  good  faith  without  malice. 

(3)  It  is  a  well-established  principle  in  our  church 
government  that  no  member  in  full  fellowship  can  be 
dropped  or  expelled  by  the  preacher  in  charge.  Indeed, 
a  member  accused  must  be  tried  by  a  committee,  created 
under  disciplinary  regulations,  and  declared  in  due  form 
to  be  guilty  of  the  violation  of  some  scriptural  or  moral 
principle,  or  of  some  covenant  vow,  before  he  can  be 
dropped  or  expelled  from  our  Church,  and  the  action 
must  be  had  by  the  local  church  or  the  official  board.  It 
is  not  enough  to  know  that  the  accused  member  is  guilty 
of  the  violation  of  the  rules  of  the  Church  ;  it  must  be 
formally  proved,  before  the  body  having  original  juris- 
diction in  the  case  can  remove  the  member.  Bishops' 
ruling  in  1887  (Minutes,  p.  63):  "A  member  of  the 
Church  who  violates  any  general  rule  of  the  Church 
cannot  be  expelled  before  an  investigation  is  had  b}^  the 
class  or  a  select  committee  thereof."  Bishops'  ruling 
in  1882  ( Minutes,  p.  35 ) :  "In  case  of'  a  trial  of  members 
accused  of  trespass  or  immoral  conduct,  etc.,  by  a  com- 
mittee, the  report  of  said  committee  must  be  submitted 
to  the  local  church  or  the  official  board  for  ratification, 
and  thereby  acquit  or  expel  the  accused,  as  the  case 
maybe." 

2.     Chairman  of  committee  of  trial. 

(i)  The  preacher  in  charge  is  the  chairman  in  case 
of  trial  of  any  of  his  members,  whether  for  trespass, 
immoral  conduct,  disobedience  to  the  order  of  the 
Church,  or  disputes  between  members.  But  in  any 
case,  "should  the  preacher  deem  it  best  to  do  so,  an 
elder  may  be  chosen  as  chairman"  by  the  quarterly 
conference.  Indeed,  no  person  who  is  generally  regarded 
as  a  strong  partisan  should  sit  as  chairman  in  any 
church  trial.     Bishops'  ruling  in  1879  (Minutes,  p.  26) : 


58  MANUAL   OF   UNITED    BRETHREN 

"  A  presiding  elder  when  generally  regarded  as  a  strong 
partisan,  ought  not  to  sit  as  presiding  officer  on  trial  of 
a  minister." 

(2)  When  a  member  accused  is  brought  before  a 
committee  of  trial,  the  Discipline  requires  the  local 
church  or  the  official  board  to  pronounce  him  expelled, 
when  the  committee  of  trial  has  found  him  guilty  of 
the  charges  alleged,  unless  there  be  due  humiliation. 

(3)  It  is  not  at  all  proper  for  the  chairman  of  a  trial 
of  a  member  or  a  preacher,  whether  b}"  a  committee  or 
b}^  conference,  or  in  case  of  appeal,  to  deliver  a  charge 
to  the  committee  of  trial,  therebj^  reviewing  the  evidence 
or  in  anj^  wa}^  explaining  the  case. 

3.     Complaints. 

( I )  It  is  the  duty  of  Christians  to  hold  sacred  the 
reputations  of  their  brethren.  Hence,  when  reports 
charge  a  member  with  crime,  prudence  dictates  that 
the  pastor  or  a  committee  be  appointed  to  visit  the 
accused  and  ascertain  the  grounds  of  the  complaints. 
This  should  always  be  done  before  any  other  action  be 
taken.  In  this  way  difficulties  ma}^  be  adjusted  and  the 
feelings  of  the  accused  and  his  friends  not  mortified. 
If  the  accusations  are  found  to  be  false,  the  committee 
is  in  a  position  to  state  facts  and  relieve  the  injured 
brother,  and  thus  the  Church  shows  her  care  for  the 
reputation  of  her  members,  and  at  the  same  time  pro- 
tects her  own  character. 

(  2 )  While  it  is  an  error  on  the  merest  private  rumor 
to  rush  hastily  into  trial,  3^et  to  take  no  notice  of  com- 
plaints except  such  as  are  presented  in  due  form  would 
be  to  neglect  the  greater  number  of  those  cases  need- 
ing special  attention.  Hence,  a  bill  of  charges  should 
not  be  formulated  on  mere  rumor,  or  on  a  complaint 
"that  there  is  probable  cause  to  suspect"  that  a  brother 
is  guilty  of  crime,  or  on  a  report  of  one  whose  testimonj' 


CHURCH    DISCIPIvINE  59 

would  not  be  received  as  evidence  in  an  ecclesiastical 
court,  unless  there  is  circumstantial  evidence  to  support 
the  report. 

(3)  Crimes  committed  by  the  accused  which  ante- 
date his  church  membership  are  not  indictable,  but 
any  crime  committed  during  his  church  membership  is 
indictable ;  and  charges  of  immorality  against  a  minis- 
ter should  not  be  restricted  to  the  period  of  his  ministry, 
but  may  extend  to  any  date  during  his  church  mem- 
bership. 

(4)  A  complaint  is  not  destroyed  and  rendered  void 
because  the  authorities  constituted  by  the  Discipline 
have  failed  to  bring  the  accused  to  an  account  in  due 
time.  The  indictable  character  of  an  act  does  not  depend 
upon  the  administrators  of  law,  but  upon  whether  it  is 
a  violation  of  God's  law  and  covenant  vows. 

( 5 )  Complaints  against  an  accessory  to  crime  are  sub- 
ject to  the  same  proceedings  in  every  respect  as  if  he 
were  charged  with  being  principal  in  the  crime. 

(6)  A  bill  of  charges  should  be  formulated  in  the 
following  order : 

{a)    A  brief  statement  of  the  charges. 
{6)    The  specifications  by  which  the  charges  are  sus- 
tained. 

For  example  — 

I.     Charge — Falsehood. 

1.  Specification — In  stating  to  M on  the  3d 

of  INIay,  etc. 

2.  Specification  — 

3.  Specification  — 
II.     Charge— Theft. 

1.  Specification  —  In  taking,  on  the  ist  of  January, 
etc. 

2.  Specification  — 

3.  Specification  — 


60  MANUAL   OF  UNITED   BRETHREN 

(7)  Thus  every  charge  should  be  definitely  stated, 
and  the  specifications  properly  arranged  under  each 
charge,  for  the  following  reasons  : 

(a)  That  the  accused  may  know  definitely  with  what 
he  is  charged. 

( d)  That  the  court  may  the  better  determine  whether 
the  facts  constitute  an  offense,  and  render  the  award 
accordingly. 

(c)  That  the  judgment  rendered  may  be  a  bar  to 
future  prosecution  for  the  same  offense. 

(8)  Each  charge  must  contain  an  offense  which  if 
proved,  independent  of  mitigating  circumstances,  would 
merit  a  penalty  of  church  law,  and  the  bill  of  charges 
should  be  so  arranged  that  every  specification,  if  sus- 
tained, would  sustain  the  charge  under  which  it  is 
arranged  ;  that  is,  if  the  charge  be  immorality,  no  speci- 
fication should  be  arranged  under  it  that  would  involve 
only  imprudence ;  and  if  the  charge  be  imprudent  con- 
duct, no  specification  should  be  given  that  involves 
immorality.  Indeed,  no  specification  should  be  given 
that  involves  an  offense  higher  than  is  found  in  the  bill 
of  charges. 

(9)  A  bill  of  charges  should  be  set  forth  in  the 
plainest  language  possible,  and  a  multiplicity  of  charges 
and  specifications  should  be  avoided.  Not  infrequently 
the  ends  of  justice  are  defeated  by  trying  to  prove  too 
much. 

( 10)  Two  distinct  offenses  should  not  be  included  in 
one  charge  unless  their  associations  at  the  time  of  com- 
mittal make  the  one  involve  the  other ;  nor  should  a 
specification  set  forth  more  than  that  one  averment  of 
the  offense  expressed  in  the  charge.  The  statements 
should  be  in  direct  language— the  accused  did  "  so  "  and 
"so,"  or  said  **so"  and  **so."  Also,  complaints  charg- 
ing the  accused  of  crime  should,  as  far  as  possible,  give 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  6l 

date  and  place  where  the  offense  was  committed;  yet 
there  may  be  offenses  which  would  not  admit  of  so 
specific  statements,  but  nevertheless  are  just  grounds  for 
charges. 

( 11 )  Charges  and  specifications  must  be  so  carefully 
drawn  that  the  accused  ma}',  without' doubt,  understand 
from  the  nature  of  the  complaint  the  real  state  of  the 
case  and  what  he  must  do  to  establish  his  innocence. 
Hence,  the  error  of  a  name,  or  some  unimportant  state- 
ment in  the  bill  of  charges,  is  not  suflicient  to  defeat  the 
ends  of  justice.  In  all  such  cases  let  the  prosecutor  ask 
the  court,  and  let  the  privilege  be  granted,  to  correct  the 
error  where  it  will  not  infringe  upon  the  rights  of  the 
accused. 

(12)  A  person  not  a  member  of  the  Church  may  not 
sign  a  bill  of  charges,  but  it  must  be  signed  by  some 
member  of  the  Church.  Bishops'  ruling  in  1875  ( Minutes, 
p.  10) :  "A  person  not  connected  with  the  Church  ma}- 
not  prefer  a  charge  against  a  member,  but  maj-  enter 
complaint  to  another  member  and  be  a  witness  in  case 
of  trial." 

(13)  It  is  a  general  principle,  universall}'  recognized 
in  civil  jurisprudence,  that  a  judge  shall  act  as  neither 
counsel  nor  attorney,  nor  in  any  way  advise  or  assist  a 
party  in  a  case  which  will  come  before  him  for  adjudi- 
cation, and  we  believe  it  to  be  good  ecclesiastical  law 
that  no  presiding  elder  should  sign  a  bill  of  charges 
against  a  preacher  that  must  be  tried  before  him,  nor 
should  a  preacher  in  charge  sign  a  bill  against  one  of  his 
members,  but  in  case  he  should  do  so,  he  should  be 
regarded  as  disqualified  to  sit  as  chairman  of  the  trial, 
and  the  quarterly  conference  should  appoint  an  elder  to 
preside  in  the  case. 

(14)  In  all  cases  where  a  number  of  persons  are 
accused  of  being  implicated  in  a  crime,  charges  and 


62  MANUAL   OF   UNITED   BRETHREN 

specifications  should  be  made  in  each  case,  and  the  per- 
sons tried  separately. 

(15)  A  copy  of  the  bill  of  charges  must  be  given  to 
every  person  accused,  and  sufficient  time  granted  him 
before  the  trial  to  prepare  his  defense. 

(16)  If  the  accused  cannot  be  found,  a  copy  of  the 
bill  of  charges  and  specifications,  duly  signed  and  left 
at  his  usual  residence,  should  be  regarded  as  a  legal 
citation  for  trial. 

4.     Select  committee. 

(i)  Our  Church  Discipline  requires  that  a  member 
accused,  if  the  preliminary  steps  set  forth  in  the  Disci- 
pline are  not  successful  in  reclaiming  him,  be  brought 
for  trial  before  the  local  church,  his  class,  or  a  select 
committee.  The  committee  of  trial  must  consist  of 
members  in  regular  standing  in  the  Church,  and,  if 
deemed  best,  may  be  chosen  from  a  class  or  classes 
other  than  the  one  to  which  the  accused  belongs,  and 
ought  not  to  be  members  of  the  quarterly  conference  ;  so 
that,  in  case  of  an  appeal  to  the  quarterly  conference,  a 
new  tribunal  may  decide  on  the  merits  of  the  case. 

(2)  If  the  trial  is  before  the  local  church,  all  the 
members  in  full  and  regular  standing  in  the  local  church 
are  entitled  to  vote. 

(3)  If  the  trial  is  before  the  class,  all  the  members 
in  regular  standing  in  the  class  are  entitled  to  vote. 

(4)  But  if  the  trial  is  by  committee,  then  the  accused 
shall  choose  his  committeeman,  and  the  prosecutor 
choose  a  second,  and  these  two  choose  a  third  member. 

(a)  But  the  right  of  challenge  obtains  to  the  parties. 
Bishops'  ruling  in  1877  (Minutes,  p.  17):  "As  to  the 
right  to  challenge  members  on  a  committee,  we  believe 
that  there  may  exist  circumstances  in  which  it  would  be 
improper  for  an  individual  to  serve  on  a  committee,  and 
therefore  the  right  to  challenge  exists.     As  there  is  no 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  63 

person  or  body  of  persons  in  the  Church  specifically 
named  in  the  Discipline  to  determine  whether  such 
circumstances  exist  or  not  in  individual  cases,  it  is 
proper  for  the  quarterly  conference,  and  not  the  presiding 
elder,  to  so  determine. '  * 

(d)  If  the  charge  be  trespass,  and  the  accused  will 
not  heed  his  brother  and  will  not  hear  ' '  one  or  two 
more ' '  who  may  accompany  his  brother,  and  it  then  be 
told  to  the  church,  and  he  refuses  to  hear  it,  he  shall  be 
expelled  by  the  local  church  or  official  board,  but  not 
until  a  committee  of  trial  has  pronounced  him  guilty. 
Bishops'  ruling  in  1879  (Minutes,  p.  25)  :  'A  member 
of  the  Church  who  violates  one  of  the  general  rules — for 
instance,  refuses  to  pay  to  the  support  of  the  preacher — 
cannot  be  expelled  before  an  investigation  by  the  class 
or  a  select  committee  thereof. ' ' 

(c)  If  the  accusation  be  immorality,  and  the  visiting 
committee  appointed  b}^  "the  class  or  official  board"  be 
"unsuccessful"  in  reclaiming  the  accused  and  "the 
guilt  be  denied,"  "he  shall  be  tried  by  the  class  to 
which  he  belongs,  or  a  committee  thereof,  chosen"  as 
per  Discipline  ;  "  if  found  guilty, "  he  "  shall  be  expelled, 
by  a  vote  of  the  local  church  or  official  board,  unless 
satisfaction  be  given."  If  it  is  deemed  best,  the  com- 
mittee of  trial  may  be  chosen  from  some  class  or  classes 
other  than  the  one  to  which  the  accused  belongs. 

{d)  If  the  charge  be  "disobedience  to  the  order  of  the 
Church,"  the  preacher  in  charge  or  leader  shall  give  pri- 
vate reproof  to  the  accused,  and  if  he  is  thus  reclaimed 
further  action  is  unnecessary.  On  a  second  offense  let  one 
or  two  faithful  members  accompany  the  preacher  in 
charge  or  the  leader;  but  if  there  be  a  third  offense,  then 
let  the  case  be  brought  before  the  local  church,  or  class, 
or  a  select  committee;  if  there  be  no  satisfactory  humilia- 
tion, he  shall  be  expelled  by  a  vote  of  the  local  church  or 


64  MANUAL  OF  UNITED  BRETHREN 

official  board.  But  in  this  case  expulsion  can  obtain 
only  when  the  accused  pleads  guilty  to  the  accusation 
and  refuses  to  humble  himself  before  God  and  the 
church.  But  should  the  accused  deny  the  charges  or 
guilt  and  ask  for  a  trial,  and  there  be  a  reasonable 
doubt  of  his  guilt,  he  shall  be  tried  by  a  committee, 
chosen  as  the  committee  is  chosen  in  case  of  immorality. 
Should  he  be  found  guilty,  he  shall  be  expelled  as  above. 
In  a  trial  under  this  clause  the  class-leader  is  to  act  for 
the  local  church  ;  should,  however,  the  class-leader  be 
the  accused,  the  class-steward  shall  act  as  prosecutor. 
See  bishops'  ruling  in  1890  (Minutes,  p.  j^))  as  quoted 
above  in  Chapter  II.,  Section  V. 

{e)  But  where  disputes  occur  between  members  or 
preachers,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  preacher  who  is  informed 
of  the  difficulty  to  inquire  into  the  case,  and,  if  nec- 
essary, recommend  to  the  parties  a  reference  to  a 
committee  of  arbitration,  chosen  by  the  contending 
parties,  each  selecting  an  arbiter  and  these  two  choosing 
a  third.  These  three  are  to  decide.  But  should  either 
of  the  parties  be  dissatisfied  with  the  decision  of  the 
committee  of  arbitration,  he  may  appeal  to  the  next 
quarterly  conference  for  a  second  arbitration,  where  each 
party  shall  choose  two  arbiters,  and  these  four  a  fifth,  a 
decision  of  a  majority  of  w^hom  shall  be  final.  "Any 
member  refusing  to  abide  by  this  decision  shall  be  ex- 
pelled ' '  by  the  local  church  or  the  official  board '  *  without 
further  trial." 

(5)  In  either  of  the  foregoing  cases, — that  is,  of 
trespass,  of  immoral  conduct,  of  disobedience  to  the 
order  of  the  Church,  or  of  disputes, — 

{a)  If  the  person  or  persons  appointed  according  to 
Discipline  refuse  or  neglect  to  act,  the  quarterly  con- 
ference shall  appoint  a  person  or  persons  who  will  execute 
the  rule  of  the  Church. 


CHURCH    DISCIPI.INE  65 

{b)  Or  if  in  any  one  of  the  foregoing  cases  the 
accused  should  fail,  refuse,  or  neglect  to  choose  a  com- 
mitteeman, the  quarterly  conference  shall  appoint  one 
for  the  accused,  that  the  trial  may  proceed, 

{c)  If  in  any  of  the  above  cases  the  two  committee- 
men chosen  should  fail  or  neglect  to  choose  a  third 
man,  the  quarterly  conference  shall  appoint  said  third 
man,  that  the  rule  of  the  Church  be  enforced. 

{d)  Or,  in  case  of  disputes,  "if  either  or  both  dis- 
putants refuse  to  choose  an  arbiter,  the  quarterly  con- 
ference shall  appoint  the  first  and  second,  and  these  two 
a  third,  who  shall  hear  the  case  and  decide. ' ' 

(6)  In  selecting  a  committee  of  trial,  men  of  such 
acknowledged  virtue,  intelligence,  and  integrity  should 
be  chosen  that  their  decision  would  command  the 
respect  both  of  the  church  and  of  the  world.  Men  may 
be  sincere  and  upright,  and  yet  not  possessed  of  a 
capacity  to  weigh  evidence  and  make  up  a  correct 
judgment.  The  decision  of  the  committee  not  onl}-  may 
affect  the  destiny  of  the  accused,  but  may  bring  peace  to 
the  congregation  or  break  it  into  fragments.  The  weight 
of  testimony  is  a  vital  matter,  and  belongs  exclusively 
to  the  committee  of  trial.  Chief  Justice  Pennington 
says  :  "The  circumstances  of  the  case,  the  probable  or 
improbable  nature  of  the  facts  detailed,  the  character  of 
the  witness,  the  manner  of  his  giving  testimony,  must 
all  be  taken  into  consideration,  and  ought,  after  being 
duly  weighed,  to  carry  conviction  to  the  minds  of  the 
jury  before  they  give  it  [the  testimony]  an  effect  by 
their  verdict.  Should  a  witness  relate  a  fact  which, 
from  its  improbable  nature,  or  from  the  badness  of  the 
character  of  the  witness,  taken  together  with  the  cir- 
cumstances in  the  case,  on  due  consideration  does  not 
carry  a  belief  of  the  fact  home  to  the  minds  of  the  jury, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  they  believe  what  the  witness 


66  MANUAL  OF  UNITED   BRETHREN 

has  related  is  false, — in  that  case  what  he  has  said  is  no 
evidence  to  them,  and  they  are  not  bound  to  give  any 
weight  to  it ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  if  they  act  upon  it, 
or  rather  make  up  their  verdict  upon  it,  such  conduct  is 
a  departure  from  their  duty,  and  little  short  of  a  viola- 
tion of  their  oath." 

(7)  What  the  committee  may  know  in  the  case  of 
the  accused,  outside  of  what  is  proved,  must  not  be  taken 
into  account  in  making  up  its  decision.  Important 
facts,  if  known  to  any  member  of  the  committee,  should 
have  been  given  in  testimony. 

(8)  In  making  up  judgment, 

{a)  The  committee  should  determine  whether  the 
specifications  have  been  proved ;  also, 

( d )  Whether  the  specifications  thus  sustained  prove 
the  charge ;  for  it  might  occur  that  every  specification 
might  be  sustained,  and  yet  the  charge  not  be  proved. 

(c)  The  question  of  guilt  rests  with  the  decision  of 
the  committee.  In  case  the  charge  is  immorality,  it  is 
to  decide  not  only  that  the  charge  has  been  proved,  but 
what  is  the  degree  of  the  guilt  —  first  or  second  degree. 
They  must  take  into  the  account,  also,  palliating  circum- 
stances, if  any,  modifying  the  guilt ;  whether  there  is 
penitence  upon  the  part  of  the  accused  and  proper 
humiliation,  and  what  shall  be  the  penalty. 

{d)  The  verdict  of  the  committee  should  always  be  in 
writing, — never  verbal, — and  signed  by  all  the  members 
of  the  committee  who  approve  it.  In  church  trials  a 
majority  of  the  committee  is  competent  to  render  a  deci- 
sion. The  chairman  of  the  committee,  together  with 
the  written  documents,  etc.,  presented  in  the  trial,  should 
be  with  the  committee  while  making  up  its  verdict. 
Yet  the  responsibility  of  the  decision  rests  exclusively 
upon  the  committee.  A  judicious  chairman  will  not, 
under  any  circumstances,  express  his  opinion  on  the 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  67 

case  to  any  person,  either  before  the  trial,  during  the 
trial,  or  while  the  judgment  of  the  committee  is  being 
made  up  and  signed.  Hence,  although  the  chairman 
of  the  committee,  as  pastor  of  the  accused,  should  be 
present,  yet  under  no  circumstances  should  he  attempt 
to  balance  the  testimony,  draw  inferences,  determine 
the  credibility  of  witnesses,  or  weigh  the  probabilities 
in  the  case ;  that  is  the  committee's  duty,  not  his,  even 
if  the  parties  request  him  to  do  so. 

{e)  If  the  language  used  in  the  bill  of  charges  is 
susceptible  of  a  double  meaning,  the  committee  of  trial 
must  determine  in  what  sense  it  is  used. 

5.  Order  of  trial.  Church  trials  should  "be  con- 
ducted in  a  consistent  Christian  manner,  without  the 
emplo3'ment  of  magistrates  and  attorneys  to  administer 
oaths  and  conduct  investigations." 

( I )  A  correct  record  of  all  trials  must  be  kept  in  a 
book  and  deposited  with  the  class-leader  for  future  refer- 
ence. Hence,  the  chairman  of  a  trial  should  appoint  a 
secretary  to  keep  a  correct  record  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  trial.  It  is  his  duty  also  to  conduct  the  religious 
services  of  the  trial,  to  read  the  names  of  the  committee 
of  trial  and  counsel  of  parties,  to  read  the  charges  and 
specifications  to  the  accused,  to  decide  who  are  com- 
petent witnesses  and  whether  documents  presented  are 
admissible  in  the  case,  and  to  decide  all  questions  of 
law  relating  to  the  trial  in  hand.  If  either  party  is 
dissatisfied  with  the  result  of  the  trial,  he  may  take  an 
appeal  to  the  next  sitting  of  the  quarterly  conference 
by  giving  notice  in  writing  to  the  preacher  in  charge  or 
the  secretary  within  thirty  days  after  the  trial.  The 
dissatisfaction  may  be,  (a)  on  the  question  of  law  as 
ruled  by  the  chairman ;  (d)  maladministration  of  the 
chairman ;  {c)  general  dissatisfaction  with  the  result  of 
the  trial. 


68  MANUAIv  (yp  UNITED   BRETHREN 

(2)  The  order  of  procedure  in  conducting  a  trial 
should  be  as  follows ; 

(a)    Reading  the  charges  and  specifications  to  the 

accused. 

{d)     Demanding  his  reply  to  the  charges. 

(c)     The  plaintiff  calls  and  examines  his  witnesses. 

{d)  Cross-examination  of  same  witnesses  by  the 
accused. 

{e)     The  defendant  calls  and  examines  his  witnesses. 

(/)  Cross-examination  by  the  accuser  of  the  ac- 
cused's witnesses. 

{g)     Rebutting  testimony  of  the  plaintiff. 

{k  )    Rebutting  testimony  of  the  defendant. 

(i)     Closing  arguments. 

a)  By  the  plaintiff. 

b)  By  the  defendant. 

c)  By  the  plaintiff. 

U)     Verdict  by  the  committee  of  trial. 
(k)    Acquittal  or  expulsion  by  the  local  church  or 
official  board. 

(3)  If  the  accused  pleads  guilty  to  the  charge,  no 
further  testimony  will  be  introduced.  The  case  is  to  be 
submitted  at  once  to  the  committee  of  trial.  But  should 
the  accused  refuse  to  answer  or  answer  evasively  in  point 
of  law  it  is  regarded  as  pleading  not  guilty,  and  the  trial 
must  proceed  on  that  basis.  Bishops'  ruling  in  1885 
(Minutes,  p.  53):  "What  shall  be  done  in  case  a 
preacher,  elder,  or  bishop  is  charged  with  immorality, 
trespass,  or  imprudent  conduct,  and  pleads  guilty  to  the 
charges  preferred  to  the  committee  of  investigation  or 
to  the  prosecutor  in  the  case  ?  A??s.  He  shall  be  sus- 
pended by  the  committee  of  trial,  if  such  committee  has 
been  constituted.  But  in  the  event  that  no  committee 
has  been  constituted,  or,  if  constituted,  refuses  to  suspend 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  69 

the  accused,  in  such  case  his  presiding  elder  shall  sus- 
pend him." 

(4)  That  "no  man  shall  be  put  in  jeopardy  a  second 
time  for  the  same  offense"  is  equally  as  good  eccle- 
siastical as  civil  law ;  hence,  an  accused  member  can- 
not be  held  to  answer  to  a  second  indictment  on  the 
same  charge  upon  which  he  has  been  duly  tried  and 
acquitted  by  the  court  having  original  jurisdiction 
in  the  case.  To  illustrate :  If  an  annual  conference 
preacher  be  charged,  and  duly  tried  according  to  Dis- 
cipline, and  acquitted,  he  cannot  be  held  in  arre.st  a 
second  time  on  the  same  charge.  Bishops'  ruling  in 
1876  (Minutes,  p.  13) :  "When  accusations  are  brought 
against  a  member  of  annual  conference,  and  the  accusers 
have  had  a  fair  opportunity  to  present  their  charges 
and  adduce  their  testimony,  and  the  accused  has  been 
acquitted,  his  character  cannot  be  arrested  by  a  subse- 
quent quarterly  conference  upon  the  same  charges." 
Bishops'  ruling  in  1879  (Minutes,  p.  2-]):  "When  an 
annual  conference  has  appointed  a  committee  to  investi- 
gate a  case  of  complaint  and  they  find  no  cause  for 
action,  another  party  cannot  arraign  the  person  and 
have  a  trial  on  the  same  charges.  They  can  enter  a 
protest  to  the  passage  of  his  character  in  the  quarterly 
conference,  to  keep  it  open  for  complaint  at  the  next 
annual  conference.  This  protest  will  not,  however, 
affect  the  Christian  and  ministerial  standing  of  the 
person  complained  of," 

(5)  A  person  having  united  with  the  Church  as  a 
seeker  is  not  a  subject  of  church  trial,  but  his  name 
may  be  dropped.  But  should  he  for  a  number  of  years 
enjoy  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  a  member  of  the 
Church  in  full  standing,  notwithstanding  he  may  not 
have  been  formally  received  into  full  membership,  he  is 
a  subject  of  discipline  and  church  trial,  and  may  not 


70  MANUAL  OF  UNITED   BRETHREN 

plead  before  a  committee  of  trial  that  he  was  not  form- 
ally received,  and  is  therefore  exempt  from  trial. 

(6)  If  the  accused  has  any  special  matter  to  plead  as 
a  bar  to  the  proceedings  of  the  trial,  he  shall  present 
it  at  the  opening  of  the  trial. 

(7)  Charges  and  specifications  may  be  amended  at 
the  opening  of  the  trial,  but  no  amendment  whatever 
can  be  admitted  in  the  progress  of  the  trial  that  will  in 
any  way  change  the  issue  of  the  case.  Also,  no  new 
charge  or  specification  can  be  admitted  during  the 
progress  of  the  trial,  but  a  charge  or  specification  may 
be  withdrawn  at  any  time  before  the  decision  is  rendered. 
Even  a  fact  stated  but  not  vital  to  the  complaint  need 
not  be  proved  and  may  be  rejected. 

(8)  When  charges  are  preferred  against  a  member, 
the  chairman  of  the  committee  of  trial  may  not  sup- 
press or  strike  from  the  bill  of  charges  any  one  charge 
or  specification  that  is  actionable  under  our  Book  of 
Discipline,  but  the  court  having  original  jurisdiction 
in  the  case  may  dismiss  the  whole  or  any  part  of  the 
bill. 

(9)  In  the  case  of  absence  of  an  important  witness 
or  witnesses  on  either  side,  or  on  the  introduction  of 
evidence  not  at  all  anticipated  by  a  party,  the  trial  may 
be  adjourned  to  some  suitable  time,  at  the  discretion  of 
the  chairman,  when  all  the  witnesses  can  be  present. 

(10)  The  necessity  of  a  formal  trial  is  not  precluded 
by  the  evasion  of  a  trial  by  the  accused  bj^  absence  or  by 
not  requesting  any  one  to  appear  in  his  stead  after  due 
notice  has  been  served.  In  such  case  the  chairman  of 
the  committee  of  trial  should  appoint  competent  counsel 
to  represent  the  accused,  and  all  the  evidence  should  be 
adduced  in  due  form  before  the  committee,  just  as  though 
the  accused  were  present.  The  committee  should  then 
render  its  verdict,  for  in  no  case  shall  expulsion  obtain 


CHURCH   DISCIPI.INE  71 

before  a  verdict  of  guilt  is  rendered.  The  committee 
and  not  the  chairman  must  decide  when  a  member 
evades  trial. 

(11)  In  all  church  trials  the  trial  must  be  restricted 
to  the  particular  charge  set  forth  in  the  bill  against  the 
accused.  Should  he  be  proved  guilty  of  a  different 
crime  than  the  one  set  forth  in  the  bill  of  charges,  he 
cannot  be  held  to  answer  to  it ;  but  a  new  bill  of  charges 
and  specifications  may  be  formed,  and  he  be  requested 
to  answer  to  the  charge. 

(12)  If  a  trial  has  proceeded  until  the  accuser  has 
introduced  his  testimou}',  the  case  may  not  then  be 
dismissed  without  his  consent. 

(13)  In  the  case  of  trial  the  accused  may  select  his 
own  counsel ;  but  the  counsel  chosen  must  be  a  member 
in  good  standing  in  our  own  Church.  But  should  he 
prefer  not  to  select  his  own  counsel,  and  ask  the  court 
to  furnish  the  needed  assistance,  everj^  effort  should  be 
made  to  secure  him  good  counsel,  that  he  may  have  a 
fair  and  impartial  trial. 

(14)  Church  trials  should  not  be  conducted  before 
the  public  congregation.  Only  those  parties  summoned 
should  be  present;  at  all  events,  none  should  be  present 
who  are  not  members  of  the  Church. 

(15)  Any  matters  of  trial  once  spread  upon  the 
records  of  trial  may  not  be  taken  therefrom  without  the 
consent  of  both  parties. 

(16)  The  course  of  procedure  of  trial  is  the  same, 
whether  it  be  by  the  local  church,  or  the  class,  or  a 
select  committee. 

6.     Laws  of  evidence. 

( I )  The  utility  of  a  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  evi- 
dence, as  establivShed  by  the  civil  courts,  is  of  vital 
importance  to  the  administrator  of  ecclesiastical  law, 
from  the  fact  that  a  church  trial  and  its  verdict  under 


^2  MANUAL  OI''  UNITED  BRETHREN 

certain  circumstances  may  be  reviewed  by  a  civil  court. 
Hence,  the  bishops'  ruling  on  evidence  in  1882  (Minutes, 
p.  35)  is:  "All  testimony  introduced  as  evidence  into 
our  church  courts  or  trials  must  be  taken  strictly  as  per 
the  laws  of  evidence  by  the  civil  courts,  and  testimony 
so  taken  may  be  introduced." 

(2)  The  following  are  some  of  the  principles  which 
stand  connected  with  the  laws  of  evidence  : 

{a)  The  evidence  must  be  in  accord  with  the  bill  of 
charges  and  restricted  to  the  case  at  issue. 

( ^ )  If  the  substance  of  the  bill  of  charges  is  proved, 
it  is  sufficient.  Thus,  if  the  charge  be  falsehood,  and 
the  specification  set  forth  two  instances,  if  one  of  them 
is  proved  the  charge  is  sustained. 

{c)  The  burden  of  proof  rests  with  the  affirmative  of 
an  issue. 

i^d)  The  proving  of  an  alibi  by  the  defense  is  suf- 
ficient. 

{e)  The  vStrongest  evidence  of  which  the  case  is  sus- 
ceptible should  be  produced. 

(/)  Oral  testimony  cannot  be  substituted  for  docu- 
mentary evidence,  when  such  evidence  can  be  produced. 

(o")  Hearsay  testimony  is  utterly  insufficient  to 
establish  a  specific  fact  which  may  be  proved  by  living 
witnesses. 

7.     Witnesses. 

( I )  The  rule  of  our  Church  as  to  the  indictment  of  an 
elder  is  based  on  I.  Tim.  5: 19  as  interpreted  by  the  Board 
of  Bishops  in  1875  (Minutes,  p.  9):  "An  accusation 
cannot  be  preferred  against  an  elder  but  '  before  tw^o  or 
three  witnesses '  ;  understanding  that  one  positive  wit- 
ness with  other  corroborative  testimony  meets  that 
clause  of  Discipline."  Roman  law  required  two  wit- 
nesses as  the  foundation  of  a  decree  ;  our  courts  require 
but  one,  if  there  is  strong  corroborative  testimony.    Our 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  73 

ecclesiastical  courts  should  require  evidence  no  less 
strong  to  secure  a  verdict  of  guilt  than  is  required  by 
our  civil  courts. 

( 2 )  The  accused  should  always  have  the  privilege  of 
testifying,  and  the  committee  of  trial  determines  the 
weight  or  merit  of  the  testimony  in  the  case.  This  is 
the  law  in  many  of  the  States  at  the  present  time,  both 
in  civil  and  in  criminal  cases. 

(3 )  In  ecclesiastical  courts,  husband  and  wife  should 
be  allowed  to  testify  for  or  against  each  other,  notwith- 
standing common  law  will  not  allow  it  in  a  case  in 
which  one  of  them  is  a  party. 

(4)  Persons  of  unsound  mind  are  not  competent 
witnesses;  nor  are  persons  who  have  rendered  themselves 
unworthy  of  belief  by  perjury,  forgery,  etc.  Such  wit- 
nesses may  be  impeached. 

( 5  )  Persons  of  honor  and  veracity,  yet  not  members 
of  any  religious  order,  are  competent  witnesses. 

(6)  The  chairman  of  the  committee  of  trial  must 
determine  the  competency  of  witnesses,  but  the  com- 
mittee must  determine  the  weight  of  their  testimony. 

(7)  If  the  preacher  in  charge  or  the  presiding  elder, 
as  the  case  may  be,  is  to  be  an  important  witness  in  the 
trial,  it  would  be  well  for  him  not  to  sit  as  chairman  of 
the  trial.  In  civil  courts,  the  same  person  cannot  be 
judge  and  witness. 

8.    Examination  of  witnesses. 

(i)  The  chairman  of  the  committee  of  trial  may 
order  the  examination  of  witnesses  out  of  the  hearing 
of  each  other. 

(2)  The  witness  should  be  called  upon  to  state  what 
he  knows  about  the  case  in  hand,  and  a  record  of  his 
testimony  should  be  taken  and  then  read  to  him,  and  if 
need  be  he  can  make  any  correction.  This  method  will 
secure  accuracy  in  the  record. 


74  MANUAL  OF  UNITED  BRETHREN 

(3)  In  the  direct  examination,  which  always  comes 
first  by  the  party  introducing  the  witness,  leading  ques- 
tions are  not  allowed  ;  but  in  the  cross-examination  they 
are.  Where  a  witness  is  unwilling  to  testify  or  has 
omitted  to  state  from  want  of  recollection,  leading 
questions  may  be  permitted  at  the  discretion  of  the 
chairman. 

(4)  A  witness  may  support  his  memor}"  by  a  mem- 
orandum, but  he  must  not  have  his  testimon}-  written 
and  read  it  in  court. 

(5 )  As  a  rule,  the  evidence  of  a  witness  must  be  lim- 
ited to  facts  within  his  own  knowledge.  Yet  cases  may 
arise  where  his  opinion  may  be  called  for,  as  in  the  case 
of  an  expert. 

(6 )  Exceptions  to  evidence  must  be  made  at  the  time 
when  it  is  taken. 

( 7 )  The  chairman  of  the  committee  of  trial  should 
carefully  avoid  bias  in  favor  of  either  party,  yet  if  no 
counsel  appears  for  prosecutor  he  should  put  such 
questions  as  will  elicit  the  truth. 

( 8 )  In  the  course  of  the  examination  of  a  witness  any 
member  of  the  committee  may  ask  a  question  which  he 
deems  necessary  to  elicit  the  truth  in  the  case. 

( 9 )  The  administering  of  oaths  to  witnesses  in  our 
church  trials  is  forbidden  in  our  Discipline. 

(10)  A  witness  may  be  impeached : 

(a)  By  proving  that  he  is  generally  known  as  a  man 
who  cannot  be  relied  on  for  veracity. 

(d)  By  proving  the  facts  stated  by  him  to  be  untrue 
by  a  number  of  responsible  witnesses. 

In  impeaching  a  witness,  testimou}^  showing  him  to 
be  a  man  of  general  immoral  character  is  not  admissible  ; 
the  testimony  must  relate  to  his  veracity,  and  only  that. 
Also,  until  a  witness  is  impeached,  testimony  to  prove 
his  good  moral  character  is  wholly  inadmissible.     A 


CHURCH    DISCIPLINE  75 

member  in  good  standing  of  the  Church  of  the  United 
Brethren  in  Christ  cannot  be  impeached  in  its  courts,  but 
his  statements  may,  however,  be  proved  to  be  incorrect. 

(ii)  As  to  the  taking  of  depositions  of  witnCvSses 
who  cannot,  or  who  refuse  to  be,  present  at  the  time 
of  trial,  our  Discipline  does  not  state  who,  in  such 
cases,  shall  take  the  depositions,  but  by  parity  of 
reasoning  the  chairman  of  the  committee  of  trial  is, 
either  in  person  or  by  proxy,  the  proper  person  to  do 
so.  If  the  chairman  cannot  take  the  deposition  in  per- 
son, let  him  appoint  a  preacher  who  is  a  member  of  the 
annual  conference  in  the  bounds  of  which  the  witness 
resides,  or  nearest  to  which  the  witness  resides  ;  pro- 
vided, that  in  everj^  case  sufficient  notice  has  been  given 
to  the  adverse  party  of  the  time  and  place  of  taking 
said  deposition.  The  hour  and  place  of  taking  the  tes- 
timony must  be  plainly  stated  in  the  notice,  and  it  must 
be  delivered  to  the  part}'  in  person  or  left  at  his  usual 
place  of  residence — not  merely  sent  to  his  post-office.  A 
week  or  ten  da3^s  at  least  should  be  given  to  the  adverse 
party  ;  but  as  our  Discipline  does  not  fix  the  length  of 
time  to  be  given  in  taking  depositions,  the  chairman 
of  the  committee  of  trial  must  determine  it. 

(12)  The  order  of  notice  should  be  after  this  or  a 
similar  form  : 

To  Brother  A :  In  that  Brother  B has  ap- 
pointed me  to  take  the  deposition   of  Mr.    C ,   of 

Dayton,  Ohio,  to  be  used  in  the  examination  of  the  bill 

of  charges  preferred  against  3'ou  by  Brother ,  I  do 

hereby  appoint  the  first  da}'  of  Ma}^   1S95,   at  2  p.m., 

at  the  home  of  Mr.  C ,  as  the  time  and  place  to  take 

said  deposition,  and  I  hereby  notify  j'ou  of  the  fact 
that  you  may  be  present  and  put  such  questions  as  you 
ma}'  see  proper.  Yours,  etc., 

P ,  April  2,  1895.  ■^'  ^^^'  ^        • 


76  MANUAIv  OP  UNITED  BRETHREN 

Form  of  deposition : 

I,  C ,  depose  and  say  that, . 

When  the  direct  testimony  of  the  witness  is  written 
out,  the  person  taking  the  evidence  may  examine  the 
witness  on  what  he  may  deem  of  importance,  and  then 
the  adverse  party  may  follow  with  the  cross-examina- 
tion. Any  objections  raised  by  the  accused  should  be 
written  down.  All  objections  to  questions  raised  by 
either  party  should  be  carefully  noted  under  the  ques- 
tion. At  the  close  of  the  examination  the  deposition 
should  be  read  to  the  witness  and  signed  by  him.  A 
note  also  should  be  attached  to  the  deposition  stating 
that  the  accused  has  been  duly  notified,  and  whether  he 
is  or  is  not  present. 

(13)  If  due  notice  was  not  given  to  the  accused  of 
the  time  and  place  of  taking  the  deposition,  and  he 
therefore  was  not  present,  the  deposition  cannot  be 
admitted  as  evidence. 

(14)  The  deposition  should  be  sealed  by  the  person 
taking  it  and  opened  only  by  the  proper  authorities. 

( 15  )  In  that  an  ecclesiastical  court  cannot  compel  a 
witness  to  come  into  open  conference  and  give  testimony, 
the  annual  conference  may  appoint  a  commission  to 
take  his  testimony  ;  provided,  always,  that  the  accused 
has  been  duly  notified  to  be  present. 

( 16)  There  is  yet  another  method  of  taking  depositions 
which  is  admissible.  It  is  resorted  to  when  a  witness 
can  only  be  reached  conveniently  by  letter.  The  method 
is  as  follows:  The  plaintiff  or  the  defendant,  as  the  case 
may  be,  after  giving  due  notice  to  the  adverse  party, 
formulates  his  direct  questions  and  submits  them  to  the 
adverse  party,  and  said  party  formulates  his  cross-ques- 
tions on  a  separate  sheet  of  paper.  The  two  sheets 
containing  the  direct  and  cross-questions  are  sealed  up 
in   one  envelope  and  addressed  to  the  witness.     The 


CHURCH   DISCIPIvINE  77 

witness  must  first  carefully  write  his  answer  to  each 
direct  question  and  then  to  each  cross-question,  sign  his 
name  to  both  papers,  seal  them  in  one  envelope,  and 
address  it  to  the  chairman  of  the  committee.  Letters 
containing  statements  derogatory  to  the  accused,  or 
in  his  favor,  cannot  be  admitted  as  evidence,  no  matter 
how  much  truth  they  may  appear  to  contain. 

9.     Appeals. 

(i)  The  right  of  appeal  is  guaranteed  alike  to 
preachers  and  members  of  the  Church  of  the  United 
Brethren  in  Christ,  by  its  Constitution,  under  certain 
disciplinary  restrictions.  "The  General  Conference 
shall  enact  no  rule  which  will  abolish  the  right  of 
appeal."  But  in  order  that  an  appeal  may  be  taken,  the 
party  asking  must  signify  his  intention  to  appeal  within 
a  given  time. 

(2)     Restrictions  of  appeals. 

( a )  Appeals  of  lay  members  are  limited  to  the  quar- 
terly conference. 

(d)  Appeals  of  exhorters  and  quarterly  conference 
preachers  are  limited  to  the  annual  conference. 

{c)  An  annual  conference  preacher,  presiding  elder, 
or  bishop  may  appeal  from  the  decision  of  his  annual 
conference  to  the  Court  of  Appeals,  and  from  the  action 
of  that  court  under  the  restrictions  of  item  7  of  "  Court  of 
Appeals."     (Discipline  of  1893,  p.  91.) 

(3  )  The  time  limit  of  taking  an  appeal  in  our  Church 
is  uniformly  within  thirty  days  from  the  decision  or 
sitting  of  the  court  from  which  the  appeal  is  taken. 
Also,  uniformly  the  appellant  is  required  within  the 
time  limit  to  give  to  the  secretary  of  the  trial  notice  of 
his  intention  to  appeal,  at  the  same  time  setting  forth 
his  reason  for  so  doing. 

( 4 )  Not  the  court  from  which,  but  the  court  to  which, 
the  appeal  is  taken,  must  determine  whether  or  not  the 


78  MANUAL   OF  UNITED   BRETHREN 

complainant  has  a  right  to  an  appeal.  Bishops'  ruling 
in  1887  (Minutes,  p.  62) :  "In  all  cases  where  a  member 
is  expelled  or  suspended  from  the  Church,  'the  right  of 
appeal  shall  be  inviolate,'  but  the  body  to  which  the 
appeal  is  taken  has  the  right  to  decide  whether  there  is 
just  ground  for  the  appeal." 

(5)  The  order  of  conducting  an  appeal  in  general. 
{a)    Presentation  of  the  appeal. 

{d)  Arrangement  of  the  committee  or  court  to  hear 
and  try  the  appeal,  etc. 

{c)    Reading  of  findings  in  the  case. 

{d)    Motion  to  admit  the  appeal. 

{e)    Statement  of  ground  of  the  appeal. 

(/)    Reading  of  minutes  and  documents  of  the  tria"*. 

(g)    Hearing  of  defense  of  the  appellant. 

(k)    Reply  from  the  defense. 

(i)    The  appellant's  reply. 

(/)     Rendering  of  decision. 

(6)  When  a  motion  is  made  to  admit  the  appeal,  if 
there  be  reasons  wh}^  the  appellant  is  not  entitled  to  an 
appeal,  the  facts  should  then  be  stated. 

(7)  If  the  accused  be  duly  notified  to  appear  for  trial 
and  he  intentionally  absent  himself,  he  cannot  claim 
the  right  of  appeal.  But  unavoidable  absence  from  trial 
is  a  just  ground  for  appeal. 

(8)  A  lay  member,  exhorter,  or  preacher  who  with- 
draws from  the  Church,  when  he  knows  that  there  are 
charges  against  him  ready  to  be  preferred  and  that  his 
name  is  marked  upon  the  record  "Withdrawn  under 
charges,"  cannot  claim  the  right  of  appeal. 

(9)  In  case  of  an  appeal,  where  no  record  of  the 
testimony  in  the  trial  has  been  kept,  the  appeal  cannot 
be  tried,  for  an  appeal  can  be  heard  only  on  the  recorded 
testimony  of  the  trial  from  w^hich  the  appeal  is  taken. 
But  the  case  may  and  should  be  referred  back  to  the 


CHURCH    DISCIPLINE  79 

original  tribunal  for  a  new  trial,  and  the  record  of  trial 
leg-ally  kept.  The  same  course  should  be  pursued  in 
every  case  of  illegal  procedure  in  trial  from  any 
cause. 

(10)  In  case  of  an  appeal,  no  new  testimony  can 
be  admitted  ;  only  the  recorded  and  documentary  evi- 
dence given  in  the  first  trial  can  be  introduced. 

( 11 )  An  appellate  court  has  jurisdiction  in  case  of  an 
appeal  only  in  so  far  as  to  decide  these  three  questions, 
namely :  Shall  the  decision  of  the  lower  court  be 
affirmed?  Shall  the  case  be  remanded  for  a  new  trial? 
Shall  the  decision  of  the  lower  court  be  reversed?  Now, 
if  these  three  questions  be  successively  put,  and  a  tie 
vote  on  each  should  obtain,  the  decision  of  the  lower 
court  would  stand  adjudicated. 

(12)  If  an  accused  lay  member  or  preacher  be  tried 
and  expelled,  and  he  takes  an  appeal  to  the  proper  court, 
his  expulsion  stands  until  the  decision  is  reversed  by  the 
appellate  court.  Bishops'  ruling  in  1875  (Minutes,  p. 
10) :  "A  member  who  has  been  convicted  and  expelled 
and  taken  an  appeal,  is  out  of  the  Church  from  the  time 
of  his  expulsion,  and  to  become  a  member  again  must 
be  reinstated  by  the  proper  authorities." 

( 13 )  In  case  an  expelled  member  takes  an  appeal, 
and  is  referred  back  by  the  appellate  court  for  a  new 
trial,  he  stands  in  the  relation  of  an  accused  member, 
and  his  trial  should  proceed  just  as  if  no  trial  in 
his  case  had  previously  been  held,  provided  the  charges 
are  not  withdrawn.  New  evidence  pro  and  con  may  be 
introduced  at  the  new  trial. 

(14)  A  new  trial  should  be  granted  : 

(a)  Where  there  is  evidence  of  maladministration. 
( d)  Where  the  minutes  of  the  trial  have  been  imper- 
fectly kept. 

(c)  Where  the  committee  of  trial  has  been  faulty  in 


8o  MANUAL   OF  UNITED   BRETHREN  • 

basing  its  verdict   on   hearsay  statement,  or  on  docu- 
ments privatelj^  sent  to  it  and  not  read  at  the  trial. 

( d )  Where  important  evidence  has  been  discovered 
that  was  not  introduced  at  the  trial,  etc. 

Section  II.— Trial  of  Preachers. 

1.  In  every  church  trial  there  must  be  one  whose 
duty  it  is  to  bring  the  accused  to  trial.  He  is  called  the 
prosecutor. 

In  the  trial  of  preachers, 

( I )  The  class-leader  or  the  class-steward  is  the  prose- 
cutor of  a  quarterly  conference  preacher  or  exhort er. 

( 2  )  An  elder  or  a  preacher  is  the  prosecutor  in  the 
case  of  an  accused  elder,  bishop,  or  annual  conference 
preacher.  Bishops*  ruling  in  1883  (Minutes,  p.  46). 
"The  law  of  the  Church  does  not  say  who  shall  be 
appointed  by  the  quarterly  conference  to  prosecute  an 
elder  accused,  but  the  spirit  of  the  law  is  that  it  be  an 
elder  or  a  preacher." 

2.  Preachers  and  exhorters  are  amenable. 

( 1 )  Quarterly  conference  preachers  and  exhorters  are 
amenable  to  their  respective  quarterly  conferences. 

(2)  Annual  conference  preachers  are  amenable  to 
both  their  quarterly  and  annual  conferences.  But 
not  infrequently  it  occurs  that  a  preacher  is  a  member 
of  two  or  more  quarterly  conferences — to  one  by  holding 
office,  to  another  by  residence,  etc.  Hence,  the  Board 
of  Bishops  made  the  following  ruling  in  1884  (  Minutes, 
p.  49) :  "A  member  of  an  annual  conference  belonging 
to  a  class,  but  residing  and  preaching  on  a  charge  other 
than  where  he  holds  his  class  membership,  is  amenable 
to  the  quarterly  conference  where  he  resides  and  preaches, 
for  his  moral  and  official  character,  no  diffisrence  where 
the  offense  is  committed."  Also,  a  preacher  may  be  a 
member  of  an  annual  conference  and  at  the  same  time 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  8l 

be  in  the  einplo}'  of  another ;  in  such  case  he  is  amenable 
for  both  his  moral  and  official  conduct  to  the  conference 
to  which  he  belongs.  Preliminary  steps  should  be  taken 
where  the  offense  charged  occurred. 

/.     Quarterly  Co?iference  Preachers  and  Exhorters. 

1.  A  quarterly  conference  preacher  or  an  exhorter  of 
our  Church  is  held  to  an  account  in  his  quarterly  confer- 
ence for  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  functions  of  his 
office,  and  also  for  his  moral  character.  There  is  a  simi- 
larity in  the  order  and  method  of  dealing  with  all  our 
church  members,  whether  preachers,  elders,  bishops, 
exhorters,  or  lay  members.  Hence,  in  case  of  official 
neglect,  or  indulging  bad  temper,  or  using  harsh  or 
unbecoming  language,  or  doing  anything  that  is  out  of 
accord  with  ministerial  conduct,  those  in  authority 
should  privatel}^  admonish  the  brother,  and  if  possible 
prevail  on  him  to  desist.  But  should  he  still  persist  in 
his  course,  then  further  disciplinar}^  steps  in  his  case 
should  be  taken,  even  if  it  should  lead  to  depriving  him 
of  his  ministerial  office. 

2.  When  an  exhorter  or  quarterly  conference  preacher 
is  accused  of  any  crime  forbidden  in  God's  Word,  it  be- 
comes the  duty  of  the  class-leader  or  steward  to  make 
special  inquiry  into  the  grounds  of  the  complaint,  and 
if  there  is  due  cause,  he,  the  leader  or  steward,  as 
prosecutor,  shall  present  the  accused  with  a  copy  of  the 
bill  of  charges,  notifying  him  to  choose  his  committee- 
man ;  the  prosecutor  shall  choose  a  second  committee- 
man, these  two  a  third,  and  this  committee  of  trial,  with 
the  preacher  in  charge  as  president,  shall  try  the  case. 
If  the  accused  is  found  guilty  by  the  committee  of  trial, 
the  committee  shall  silence  him,  provided,  however,  that 
either  party  has  the  right  of  appeal  to  the  next  quarterly 

conference  for  a  new  trial.     Unless  the  leader  or  steward 
6 


82  MANUAL   OF  UNITED   BRETHREN 

who  is  the  prosecutor  in  the  case  finds  the  complaints 
well  founded,  he  need  not  formulate  a  bill  of  charges 
and  proceed  to  trial,  but  may  and  should  at  once  drop 
the  case ;  as  prosecutor,  he  may  not,  however,  suppress 
charges  that  are  well  founded. 

3.  Should  neither  leader  nor  steward  be  willing,  for 
any  cause,  to  prosecute  well-founded  charges  against 
an  accused  quarterly  conference  preacher  or  exhorter, 
the  quarterly  conference  shall  appoint  an  exhorter  or 
preacher  to  prosecute  the  case  ;  and  if  for  any  cause  the 
accused,  after  being  duly  notified,  fails  to  choose  a  com- 
mitteeman, the  quarterly  conference  shall  appoint  a  first 
and  second,  and  these  two  choose  a  third,  and  the  com- 
mittee of  trial  thus  constituted  shall  proceed  to  try  the 
case ;  and  should  the  two  committeemen  either  chosen 
by  the  accused  and  prosecutor  or  appointed  by  the  quar- 
terly conference  fail  to  agree  on  a  third  person,  the 
quarterly  conference  shall  appoint  the  third,  that  a  fair 
and  impartial  trial  may  be  had ;  of  course,  the  right  of 
appeal  being  inviolate  in  all  cases  of  trial. 

4.  The  committeemen  may  be  chosen  from  persons 
living  without  the  jurisdiction  of  the  quarterly  confer- 
ence to  which  the  accused  belongs,  and  should  be 
exhorters  or  preachers.  The  Discipline  does  not  say 
definitely  of  what  rank  the  committee  of  trial  should  be 
composed,  but  the  above  is  in  strict  accord  with  the 
analogy  of  our  church  government.  A  man  should 
always  be  tried  by  his  peers. 

5.  The  manner  of  conducting  the  trial  by  the  com- 
mittee in  case  of  a  quarterly  conference  preacher  or 
exhorter  is  similar  to  the  trial  of  a  member  as  before 
described.  The  chairman  must  appoint  a  secretary  and 
see  that  correct  minutes  of  the  charges,  specifications, 
testimony,  and  examination  be  kept.  If  an  appeal  be 
taken  for  a  new  trial,  these,  with  the  decision  of  the 


CHURCH   discipline:  83 

committee,  must  be  placed  before  the  quarterly  confer- 
ence by  the  secretary  or  chairman  of  the  trial. 

6.  According  to  our  Discipline  the  trial  of  a  quarterly 
conference  preacher  or  exhorter  by  a  committee  is  only  a 
preliminary  trial,  where  the  case  may  rest  if  both  parties 
are  satisfied  with  the  decision  of  the  committee  of  trial , 
but  if  either  party  is  dissatisfied,  it  may  take  an  appeal 
to  the  next  quarterly  conference  for  a  new  trial.  In  this 
new  trial  new  and  additional  evidence  may  be  introduced 
pro  and  con.  Testimony  that  was  rejected  at  the  first 
trial  may  be  admitted  by  the  presiding  elder  of  the  quar- 
terly conference,  or  some  testimony  admitted  in  the  first 
trial  may  be  ruled  out  in  the  second.  The  quarterly 
conference  having  jurisdiction  in  the  case  may  acquit, 
silence,  or  even  expel  the  accused,  but  to  the  accused 
the  right  of  appeal  to  the  annual  conference  obtains. 

7.  If  the  accused  designedly  absents  himself  from  the 
trial  either  by  the  committee  or  by  the  quarterly  confer- 
ence, he  may  be  tried  in  his  absence. 

8.  The  quarterl}^  conference,  having  sole  jurisdiction, 
can  alone  award  punishment  in  the  trial  of  exhorters  and 
quarterly  conference  preachers.  Silencing  the  accused 
by  the  committee  is  but  a  public  arrest  of  character 
until  the  case  can  be  heard  before  the  proper  tribunal, 
provided  the  accused  or  the  accuser  desires  to  carry  the 
case  up  to  the  proper  tribunal. 

//.    Annual  Conference  Preachers. 

1.  In  the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ, 
annual  conference  preachers,  whether  they  be  local  or 
itinerant  preachers,  elders,  or  bishops,  are  alike  tried 
under  the  same  rules  of  Discipline,  with  this  exception, 
that  if  the  accused  be  an  elder,  only  elders  vote  in  the 
disposition  of  his  case  by  the  annual  conference. 

2.  When  an  annual  conference  preacher  is  reported 


84  MANUAL   OF   UNITED   BRETHREN 

guilty  of  any  of  the  offenses  set  forth  in  our  Discipline 
of  1893,  page  76,  '' the  preacher  to  whom  it  is  knoivji,'" 
under  disciplinary  regulations,  shall  examine  into  the 
complaints ;  should  the  complaints  be  well  founded, 
these  "examiners  shall  prefer  charges  against  the  ac- 
cused," but  should  the  complaints  be  without  founda- 
tion the  examiners  are  to  report  the  fact  to  the  accused's 
next  quarterly  conference.  Should  no  one  be  willing  to 
prosecute  the  charges  preferred,  the  quarterl}^  conference 
must  appoint  a  prosecutor,  who  shall  notify  the  accused 
in  writing ;  that  is,  present  him  with  a  bill  of  the 
charges  and  specifications,  and  also  notify  him  to  choose 
an  elder  as  his  committeeman,  the  prosecutor  also 
choosing  an  elder  as  a  committeeman  to  represent  the 
Church,  and  these  two  a  third  elder  or  preacher. 

( I )     This  constitutes  the  committee  of  trial. 

( a )  The  presiding  elder  of  the  district  in  which  the 
offense  was  committed  is  the  legally  constituted  chair- 
man of  the  committee  of  trial,  who  must  be  notified  by 
the  prosecutor. 

( <5 )  It  is  the  duty  of  the  chairman  to  appoint  the 
time  and  place  of  trial. 

( c')  Not  less  than  twenty  nor  more  than  fort}^  days' 
notice  is  the  time  limit. 

(  2  )  The  verdict  of  the  committee :  If  the  accused  is 
proved  guilty,  the  committee  of  trial  shall  require  him 
to  hold  his  peace  until  the  sitting  of  his  annual  confer- 
ence, when  he  shall  have  a  rehearing. 

(3 )  A  correct  record  of  the  charges  and  specifications, 
and  the  evidence  and  documents  used  in  the  committee 
trial,  together  with  the  verdict  of  the  committee,  must 
be  submitted  by  the  secretary  of  trial  to  annual  confer- 
ence. 

( 4  )  Should  the  accused  for  any  cause  fail  to  choose 
his  committeeman,  or  to  notify  the  prosecutor  within 


CHURCH   DISCIPI.INE  85 

fifteen  daj^s,  the  pr-^siding  elder  shall  suspend  him  until 
the  annual  conference.  To  this  there  is  one  exception, 
namely  :  Should  the  accused-  not  be  able  to  secure  his 
committeeman  within  the  fifteen  da3's,  more  time  may 
be  granted.  Bishops'  ruling,  1883  (Minutes,  p.  43): 
"When  a  member  of  an  annual  conference  is  accused, 
and  has  been  duly  notified  to  choose  his  committeeman 
and  cannot  secure  one  within  fifteen  days  as  per  Disci- 
pline, he  may  not  be  suspended,  but  more  time  shall 
be  given  him  to  make  said  choice,  at  the  discretion  of  the 
presiding  elder."  The  accused  shall  also  notify  the  pre- 
siding elder  of  his  choice  of  committeeman.  Bishops' 
ruling,  1883  ( Minutes,  p.  42  )  :  "  When  charges  have  been 
preferred  against  a  member  of  an  annual  conference, 
and  he  has  been  notified  to  choose  his  committeeman, 
he  shall  notify  the  presiding  elder  of  such  choice,  that 
the  trial  may  proceed  according  to  the  Discipline." 

(5)  The  committee  of  trial  may  not  modify  the  dis- 
ciplinary sentence.  Bishops'  ruling,  1880  (Minutes,  p. 
30):  "A  committee  has  no  right  to  modify  the  pun- 
ishment of  a  minister  who  has  been  convicted  of 
misdemeanor.  Its  duty  is  to  enforce  the  disciplinary 
punishment." 

(6)  Should  the  two  committeemen  chosen  by  the 
plaintiff  and  the  defendant  fail  to  agree  on  a  third  mem- 
ber of  the  committee  of  trial,  the  quarterly  conference 
shall  appoint  a  third  committeeman. 

3.  The  trial  by  committee  of  an  annual  conference 
preacher  held  during  the  interim  of  an  annual  confer- 
ence is  strictly  preliminary.  The  committee  can  only 
suspend  from  ministerial  and  church  privileges  until  the 
sitting  of  the  accused's  annual  conference. 

4.  It  is  altogether  out  of  accord  both  with  the  letter 
and  the  spirit  of  our  Discipline,  when  a  preacher  is  ac- 
cused in  the  interval  of  annual  conference,  to  defer  taking 


86  MANUAIv  OF  UNITED  BRETHREN 

the  disciplinary  steps  to  bring  him  to  trial  with  a  view 
to  lodging  said  complaints  against  him  at  his  annual 
conference.  The  very  object  of  a  committee  of  trial  in 
the  interim  of  an  annual  conference  is,  on  the  one  hand, 
to  protect  the  character  of  a  brother  if  innocent,  and, 
on  the  other,  to  save  the  Church  from  reproach  if  he  is 
guilty,  until  the  ensuing  annual  conference,  when  a 
rehearing  of  the  case  must  be  had.  It  is  not  to  be 
inferred  that  by  the  organization  of  a  committee  of 
trial,  or  by  any  of  its  acts  in  course  of  the  trial, 
the  right  or  power  of  the  annual  conference  is  or 
can  be  in  any  way  abridged ;  but  it  is  taking  the  only 
disciplinary  steps  that  can  legally  prepare  the  case  and 
bring  it  properly  before  the  conference  for  a  rehearing 
and  an  authoritative  verdict  fixing  a  penalty  in  the 
case,  the  annual  conference  having  original  jurisdiction 
over  its  members. 

5.  When  a  member  of  an  annual  conference  is  tried 
and  acquitted  by  his  conference,  he  cannot  be  jeopardized 
a  second  time  for  the  same  offense.  Bishops'  ruling, 
1876  (Minutes,  p.  13)  :  "When  accusations  are  brought 
against  a  member  of  annual  conference,  and  the  accusers 
have  had  a  fair  opportunity  to  present  their  charges  and 
adduce  their  testimony  and  the  accused  has  been  ac- 
quitted, his  character  cannot  be  arrested  by  a  subsequent 
quarterly  conference  upon  the  same  charges." 

6.  While  in  the  trial  of  ministers  the  regulations  of 
the  General  Conference  take  precedence,  yet  if  an 
annual  conference  preacher  is  accused  and  charges  have 
been  regularly  preferred  and  efforts  to  organize  a  com- 
mittee of  trial,  as  provided  in  Discipline,  have  failed, 
and  the  case  comes  to  the  annual  conference,  the  con- 
ference has  the  right  to  organize  a  committee  of  trial  at 
its  pleasure,  but  only  with  the  consent  of  the  parties  in- 
volved, and  to  order  the  trial  to  proceed.  Bishops'  ruling, 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  87 

1888  ( Minutes,  p.  68)  :  "In  every  case  the  regulations 
of  the  General  Conference  in  case  of  the  trial  of  minis- 
ters should  take  precedence,  but  where  a  minister  is 
accused  and  charges  preferred,  and  a  committee  has 
failed  to  be  organized  as  per  Discipline,  and  the  case 
comes  to  the  annual  conference,  said  conference  having 
jurisdiction  in  the  case  of  its  members  may  organize  a 
committee  in  such  manner  as  it  deems  best  for  the 
trial  of  the  accused,  the  parties  concerned  consenting 
thereto." 

7.  If  complaints  or  charges  are  presented  to  an  annual 
conference  against  a  preacher  which  through  neglect 
or  want  of  time  have  not  been  investigated  by  a  com- 
mittee, the  annual  conference  may  hear  the  complaints 
and  refer  the  case  back  to  the  accused's  quarterlj^ 
conference  to  be  tried  as  per  Discipline,  or  it  ma}^ 
appoint  a  committee  of  investigation  to  see  if  the  accu- 
sations are  well  founded,  and,  if  so,  to  take  steps  to 
bring  the  accused  to  trial  as  per  Discipline  of  1893,  pages 
76,  77.  Or,  if  the  accused  is  willing  and  prepared  for 
trial,  the  case  may  be  tried  at  the  annual  conference,  but 
he  cannot  be  forced  to  trial  unless  the  disciplinary  steps 
have  been  taken.  Bishops'  ruling,  1877  (Minutes,  p. 
21):  "An  annual  conference  may  hear  complaints 
against  its  members,  but  cannot  try  the  case  without 
the  consent  of  the  accused,  unless  previous  disciplinary 
action  has  been  taken."  Bishops'  ruling,  1883  ( Minutes, 
p.  44) :  "It  a  preacher  comes  to  the  annual  conference 
with  charges  preferred  against  him  which  have  been 
investigated  but  not  tried,  the  case  may  be  tried  at  the 
conference,  provided  the  accused  and  accusers  be  read}' 
for  trial.  The  same  ruling  holds  when  two  committee- 
men have  failed  to  agree  in  selecting  a  third." 

8.  Should  a  committee  be  appointed  b}^  an  annual 
conference  to  investigate  complaints  against  one  of  its 


S8  MANUAI,   OF   UNITED   BRETHREN 

members  and  the  committee  should  find  no  cause  of 
action,  his  quarterly  conference  may  not  open  up  the 
case  or  refuse  to  pass  his  character,  nor  may  any  other 
party  arraign  him  on  the  same  charges ;  they  may  pro- 
test against  the  passage  of  his  character  at  the  quarterly 
conference,  and  keep  the  case  open  for  complaints  at  the 
ensuing  annual  conference.  Bishops'  ruling  in  1879 
(Minutes,  p.  27):  "When  an  annual  conference  has 
appointed  a  committee  to  investigate  a  case  of  com- 
plaints and  they  find  no  cause  for  action,  another  party 
cannot  arraign  the  person  and  have  a  trial  on  the  same 
charges.  They  can  enter  a  protest  to  the  passage  of  his 
character  in  the  quarterly  conference  to  keep  it  open  for 
complaint  at  the  next  annual  conference.  This  protest 
will  not,  however,  affect  the  Christian  or  ministerial 
standing  of  the  person  complained  of. ' ' 

9.  If  a  member  of  an  annual  conference  has  been 
expelled  and  has  or  has  not  taken  an  appeal  to  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  a  subsequent  annual  conference  cannot 
reconsider  its  action  and  restore  him  to  his  former  stand- 
ing. If  a  subsequent  conference  could  reconsider  the 
acts  of  its  former  session  and  reinstate  an  expelled 
member,  for  the  same  reason  it  could  reconsider  its 
action  and  expel  one  whom  it  had  acquitted.  But  should 
the  expelled  member  desire  to  return  to  the  Church  and 
to  the  ministry  again,  to  be  restored  he  must  come  up 
through  the  quarterly  conference,  having  been  recom- 
mended to  that  body  as  per  Discipline  for  license  to  preach ; 
and  if  he  be  an  elder,  he  may  not  exercise  the  functions 
of  an  elder  during  his  probation  ;  and  if  received  into 
the  annual  conference,  the  functions  may  be  conferred  or 
withheld  to  some  future  time,  at  the  pleasure  of  the 
conference.  Bishops'  ruling,  1882  (Mmutes,  p.  33): 
**  A  quarterly  or  annual  conference  preacher  losing  his 
relations  to  his  conference,   in  order  to  be  reinstated 


CHURCH  discipline;       .  89 

must  receive  a  recommendation  from  the  class  of  which 
he  is  a  member  to  the  quarterly  conference."  Bishops' 
ruling,  1875  ( Minutes,  p.  10) :  "When  an  elder  has  lost 
his  relation  to  the  annual  conference,  to  be  restored  he 
must  come  up  regularly  through  the  quarterly  confer- 
ence, the  same  as  one  who  had  never  held  license.  While 
thus  a  member  of  quarterly  conference  he  may  not 
exercise  the  prerogatives  of  an  elder."  Bishops'  ruling, 
1879  (Minutes,  p.  25):  "An  ordained  minister  w^ho 
loses  his  relations  to  the  Church  and  his  Christian 
character,  may  not  exercise  the  functions  of  an  elder 
during  his  quarterly  conference  probation,  should  he 
come  back.  W^hen  recieved  into  the  annual  conference 
these  functions  may  be  conferred  upon  him  or  withheld, 
at  the  pleasure  of  the  conference,  to  some  subsequent 
time." 

10.  In  that  a  committee  trial  in  the  case  of  a  preacher 
is  only  preliminar}^  and  not  final,  therefore,  an  acquittal 
of  an  accused  annual  conference  preacher  by  a  committee 
of  trial  does  not  prevent  the  annual  conference  from 
further  investigating  the  case  on  the  same  charges. 
But  where  a  committee  is  competent  and  faithful,  its 
acquittal  should  suffice. 

11.  If  an  accused  preacher  be  found  guilty  by  the 
committee  of  trial,  it  must  require  him  "to  hold  his  peace 
until  the  annual  conference."  Penitence  upon  the  part 
of  the  convicted  cannot  prevent  him  from  being  silenced. 

12.  If  an  annual  conference  appoints  a  committee  to 
investigate  complaints  against  one  of  its  members  and 
to  report  at  the  next  sitting  of  the  conference,  if  the 
conference  should  be  divided  and  the  committee  falls 
into  different  conferences  its  powers  remain  the  same 
until  its  report  is  heard  and  accepted.  The  report  must 
be  made  to  the  conference  of  which  the  accused  is  a 
member,  should  the  division  go  into  effect  before  the 


90  MANUAIy  OF  UNITED  BRETHREN 

report  is  heard,  and  should  there  be  no  joint  session  to 
hear  the  report. 

13.  In  case  of  an  accused  annual  conference  preacher, 
the  presiding  elder  may  appoint  the  place  of  trial  beyond 
the  limits  of  his  district,  if  in  his  judgment  there  be 
good  reason  for  so  doing. 

14.  When  a  preacher  is  suspended  by  a  committee  of 
trial  or  by  a  presiding  elder,  the  grounds  on  which  the 
suspension  is  based  should  be  stated.  Bishops'  ruling, 
1888  (Minutes,  p.  68) :  "In  the  case  of  the  suspension 
of  a  minister  by  a  committee  or  a  presiding  elder,  the 
cause  of  said  suspension  should  be  stated." 

15.  Complaints  against  a  preacher  in  and  of  them- 
selves are  not  a  just  ground  for  erasing  his  name  from 
the  conference  record ,  hence  it  may  not  be  done.  Bishops' 
ruling,  1888  (Minutes,  p.  68):  "An  annual  conference 
may  not  erase  from  its  roll  the  name  of  one  of  its  mem- 
bers against  whom  there  are  complaints,  without  an 
investigation,  except  in  cases  provided  by  the  Dis- 
cipline." 

16.  A  preacher  can  be  arraigned  before  a  committee 
of  trial  only  for  the  following  : 

( 1 )  Immorality. 

( 2 )  Trespass. 

( 3  )     Imprudent  conduct. 

(4)  Disobedience  to  the  order  and  discipline  of  the 
Church. 

Every  charge  must  come  under  some  one  of  the 
above  heads.  For  example:  Should  a  preacher  hold 
heretical  doctrines  or  erroneous  views,  doctrines  and 
views  which  are  at  variance  with  our  Confession  of 
Faith,  and  persist  in  diSvSeminating  them,  if  arraigned, 
the  charge  would  be  "heresy,"  and  come  under  item  (4). 

17.  The  form  of  trial  of  a  preacher  in  the  case  of 
rehearing  is  the  same  as  that  of  a  member,  except  in 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  9I 

rendering  the  verdict.  Whether  it  be  before  the  quarterly 
or  annual  conference,  the  vote  should  be  taken  : 

(i)  Upon  the  several  specifications  in  order  under 
each  charge,  whether  they  have  been  sustained.    , 

(2)    Upon  the  charge. 

18.  Should  the  accused  preacher,  having  been  duly 
notified,  not  appear  before  either  the  committee  of  trial 
or  the  annual  conference,  the  same  order  in  his  trial 
should  obtain  as  if  he  were  present.  Competent  counsel 
should  be  appointed  to  represent  his  case,  and  accurate 
minutes  should  be  kept. 

19.  A  minister  suspended,  whether  by  a  committee 
of  trial  or  by  his  annual  conference,  is  amenable 
nevertheless  to  his  quarterly  as  well  as  to  his  annual 
conference,  but  is  not  entitled  to  vote  in  either  so  long 
as  his  suspension  obtains.  Bishops'  ruling  in  1882 
( Minutes,  p.  34)  :  "In  case  one  of  our  preachers  is  sus- 
pended from  the  ministry,  he  is,  nevertheless,  amenable 
to  his  quarterly  conference,  but  has  no  vote  in  quarterly 
conference." 

20.  If  a  preacher  has  been  tried  by  his  annual  con- 
ference and  unconditionally  suspended  for  a  definite 
time, — say  one  year, — the  conference  at  the  expiration 
of  that  time  may  not  expel  him  for  the  same  offense, 
or  continue  the  suspension  to  a  future  period.  If  he 
abides  the  penalty  adjudged  at  the  time  of  trial,  he  is 
deemed  clear  by  the  law. 

21.  When  a  preacher  in  our  Church  is  so  inefiicient 
or  so  delinquent  as  not  to  be  useful  in  the  ministr}',  and, 
being  admonished,  refuses  or  neglects  to  heed  the 
admonitions,  and  his  conference  is  in  possession  of  all 
the  facts  in  his  case,  it  may  erase  his  name  from  the 
roll  of  ministers  ;  also,  if  a  preacher  absents  himself 
from  his  annual  conference  for  three  consecutive  ses- 
sions without  rendering  satisfaction  to  his  conference,  it 


92  MANUAI.  OP  UNITED   BRETHREN 

maj^  erase  his  name  from  the  conference  roll.  But  in 
the  exercise  of  these  prerogatives  a  conference  should 
act  with  great  judgment  and  wise  discrimination. 

22.  The  annual  conference  secretary  should  keep  a 
complete  record  of  trial.  All  the  testimony  must  be 
carefully  taken  and  recorded,  together  with  a  list  of  all 
documentary  testimony.  The  documentary  testimony 
need  only  be  kept  on  file.  The  charges,  specifications, 
and  verdict  should  be  placed  upon  the  conference 
journal  also,  so  that  a  read\'  reference  at  an 3^  time 
could  be  had  to  the  facts  in  the  case. 

23.  If  a  preacher  is  divorced  from  his  wife  on  grounds 
other  than  adultery  and  again  marries,  he  is  indictable 
under  the  rules  of  our  Church.  Bishops'  ruling,  1888 
(Minutes,  p.  67):  "A  minister  divorced  from  his  wife 
on  grounds  other  than  adultery  and  again  married,  is 
guilty  of  violating  our  church  law  as  set  forth  in  Chap- 
ter X.,  Section  6,  item  3,  page  84  of  the  Discipline,  and 
is  amenable  to  his  conference  for  disobedience  to  the 
order  and  divScipline  of  the  Church." 

Section  III.— Offenses  Indictable. 

1.  It  should  be  definitely  stated  in  each  church  trial 
under  what  rule  of  Discipline  the  case  is  to  be  tried. 

2.  Every  offense  against  our  church  law  may  be 
brought  and  prosecuted  under  one  of  the  following 
rules  of  Discipline : 

( 1 )  Immorality,  which  includes  any  crime  definitely 
forbidden  in  the  Word  of  God. 

(2)  Trespass,  which  includes  any  unlawful  act  inten- 
tionally committed  on  the  person,  property,  or  relative 
rights  of  another. 

(3)  Disobedience  to  the  order  and  discipline  of  the 
Church,  which  includes : 

(a)  Neglect  of  any  Christian  duty. 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  93 

(d)  Imprudent  conduct. 

( c)  Indulging  sinful  temper  or  words  or  actions. 

(d)  Bu3-ing,  selling,  or  using  intoxicating  liquors  as 
a  beverage. 

(e)  Fraudulent  business  transactions. 

(/)  Sowing  dissensions  of  any  kind  among  the 
brethren. 

(g)  Refusing  to  arbitrate  disputed  pecuniarj^  ques- 
tions when  duly  advised  b}-  a  preacher  or  leader  to  do 
so,  and  rushing  into  the  civil  courts  with  another  brother 
to  settle  such  questions  against  disciplinar}^  regulations. 

Bishops'  ruling  in  1891  (Minutes,  p.  75):  "In  Dis- 
cipline, page  32,  under  head  of  "Going  to  Law,"  the 
wording,  "shall  be  expelled  without  further  process," 
the  class  is  to  determine  the  facts,  and,  if  found  guilty, 
enforce  the  law,  and  the  preacher  in  charge  is  onl}^  to 
declare  the  findings  of  the  class  and  its  actions  ;  and 
that  in  no  case  whatever  can  a  member  of  our  Church 
be  expelled,  except  b}-  a  vote  of  his  local  church  or 
ofiicial  board.     (See  Discipline  of  1889,  p.  29)." 

3.  If  the  offender  be  a  laj-  member,  church  labor  with 
him  is  necessar}'  in  ever}'  case  before  charges  may  be 
preferred  ;  but  if  the  accused  be  a  preacher  or  an  exhort- 
er,  no  church  labor  in  his  case  is  necessary.  If  the 
complaints  are  well  founded,  charges  maj^  be  preferred 
at  once.  This  does  not  include,  however,  delinquency 
and  inefficiency  of  preachers,  where  admonition  is 
necessar}',  but  committee  trial  is  not. 

4.  Should  a  preacher  persist  in  disseminating  doc- 
trines that  are  out  of  accord  with  our  Confession  of 
Faith,  or  preaching  upon  any  one  special  mode  of  bap- 
tism to  the  distraction  of  his  members,  he  makes  himself 
liable  to  arrest  and  suspension  by  a  committee  of  trial, 
and  trial  by  his  annual  conference.  Bishops'  ruling  in 
1880  (Minutes,  p.  30):     "It  is  not  proper  for  ministers 


94  MANUAL   OP  UNITED  BRETHREN 

to  preach  in  favor  of  or  against  any  particular  mode 
of  baptism,  or  as  to  the  proper  subjects  of  that  ordi- 
nance, when  such  preaching  would  give  offense  and 
produce  divisions  and  alienations  of  feelings  among 
the  members  of  the  Church.  Should  any  minister 
persist  in  thus  violating  the  order  and  discipline  of 
the  Church,  he  should  be  proceeded  against  as  per 
Discipline." 

5.  Suits  for  slander  against  members  are  forbidden 
by  our  Church  until  disciplinary  regulations  have  failed 
to  adjust  the  matter.  Bishops'  ruling,  1880  (Minutes, 
29):  **A  suit  for  slander  may  not  be  brought  by  one 
member  of  the  Church  against  another  member  until 
disciplinary  steps  have  been  taken  for  adjustment." 

6.  When  a  charge  of  slander  is  brought  by  one 
member  against  another,  it  is  admissible  for  the  ac- 
cused to  prove  the  truth  of  his  statements  as  a  ground 
of  justification. 

Section  IV.— Penalties. 

1.  Judgment  without  mercy  is  not  wise  in  civil,  much 
less  in  church  government.  It  is  not  possible  in  each 
offense  to  mete  out  all  that  it  merits.  What  is  intended 
in  church  penalties  rather  is  this:  first,  to  secure  the 
reformation  of  the  transgressor ;  and  second,  to  act  as  a 
motive  among  the  members  to  correct  moral  conduct 
and  to  secure  the  purity  of  the  Church.  While  these 
penalties  are  not  intended  to  be  severe,  thej^  should  be 
certain ;  for  the  certainty  and  not  the  severity  of  a 
penalty  has  more  to  do  in  securing  the  end  in  view. 

2.  The  penalties  of  our  Church  may  be  set  in  the 
following  order: 

( I )  The  accused  is  guilty,  but  the  Church  forgives 
him. 

(  2 )     Censure  or  reprimand. 


CHURCH  DISCIPLINE  95 

(3)  Suspension. 

(4)  Expulsion. 

3.  That  the  Church  has  the  right  to,  and  where  there 
is  true  repentance  should,  forgive  the  offender,  is  clearly 
set  forth  in  the  Word  of  God.  * '  But  if  ye  forgive  not 
men  their  trespasses,  neither  will  your  Father  forgive 
your  trespasses."  Also,  Gal.  6:  i.  But  sound  judgment 
should  be  exercised  in  all  cases  of  forgiveness  ;  for  there 
are  some  offenses  which  are  so  outrageous  that  anything 
short  of  expulsion  would  not  seem  to  secure  the  safety 
and  good  of  society,  much  less  the  purity  and  protec- 
tion of  the  Church.  For  minor  offenses  the  penalty  of 
censure  or  suspension  for  a  time  seems  to  meet  all  the 
conditions  necessary  in  the  case  of  the  accused ;  but 
the  practice  of  some  conferences  of  voting  that  the 
accused  be  reprimanded  by  the  bishop  is  not  good.  It 
takes  away  the  sense  of  manhood  from  both  the  accused 
and  the  one  who  reprimands.  When  once  the  spirit  of 
the  accused  is  thus  broken,  about  all  is  lost,  and  he  is 
left  with  nothing  upon  which  to  build.  Suspension 
and  censure  apply  alike  to  lay  members  as  well  as  to 
preachers  and  exhorters. 

4.  No  preacher,  exhorter,  or  member  may  be  cen- 
sured or  suspended  without  a  regular  trial,  nor  can 
suspension  in  any  case  exceed  one  year. 

5.  A  penalty  must  always  be  based  upon  the  charge 
of  which  the  accused  is  found  guilty.  He  cannot  be 
punished  for  immorality  when  convicted  only  of  im- 
prudent conduct. 

6.  No  higher  penalty  than  censure  should  be  admin- 
istered for  maladministration. 

7.  An  expelled  member  or  preacher,  if  truly  penitent, 
may  be  received  into  our  Church ;  but  if  the  societj^  or 
conference  become  convinced  that  the  expelled  is  inno- 
cent, he  may  be  received  without  contrition. 


96  MANUAI.  OF  UNITED  BRETHREN 

8.  If  the  quarterly  conference  should  decide  in  case 
of  an  appeal  that  a  member  had  been  expelled  contrary 
to  the  Discipline,  such  decision  restores  him  to  church 
membership. 

Section  V.— Arbitration. 

1.  Cases  for  arbitration  should  be  restricted  to  pecun- 
iary matters,  and  based  on  matters  of  fact.  Yet  our 
Discipline  is  broad  in  the  term  used,  for  the  causes  of 
disputes  among  brethren  are  almost  without  limit,  espe- 
cially when  they  are  based  on  matters  of  opinion. 

2.  The  preacher  who  makes  inquiry-  into  the  case  has 
discretionary  power  to  decide  : 

( 1 )  Whether  the  case  is  a  subject  of  arbitration  and 
whether  action  is  necessary.  Pouring  oil  on  the 
troubled  waters  is  much  easier  than  stopping  the 
storm  or  pumping  the  ocean  dr}^,  and  sometimes 
equally  effective. 

(2)  If  action  is  necessary  in  the  case,  under  what 
rule  of  Discipline  the  action  should  be  taken — whether 
traspass,  immorality,  etc.  The  term  "pecuniar}-  mat- 
ters "  is  to  be  understood  as  including  estate,  real  and 
personal,  debts,  demands,  accounts,  contracts,  or  what- 
ever is  involved  in  matters  of  finance. 

3.  The  arbitrators  must  be  members  in  regular  stand- 
ing in  the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ. 

4.  As  to  the  chairman  of  a  committee  of  arbitration, 
the  rules  which  govern  in  the  case  of  church  trials  in 
so  far  as  the  chairman  is  concerned  obtain  in  a  case  of 
arbitration. 

5.  Order  of  arbitration. 

( 1 )  Religious  services. 

( 2 )  Appointment  of  a  secretary  by  the  referees. 

(3)  Plaintiff  makes  his  statement  and  introduces  his 
testimony. 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  97 

(4)  The  defendant  makes  his  answer  and  introduces 
his  testimony. 

(5)  Plaintiff's  rebutting  testimony. 

(6)  Defendant's  rebutting  testimony. 

(7)  Closing  arguments. 
{a)    By  the  plaintiff. 
(d)     By  the  defendant. 

(8)  The  parties  should  then  retire  and  the  decision 
be  written  and  signed  by  the  referees. 

6.  Arbitration  is  required  b}^  the  Discipline  when  the 
dispute  is  between  members  or  preachers  of  our  own 
Church,  and  not  between  a  member  or  a  preacher  and 
a  civil  corporation  which  is  composed  in  whole  or  in 
part  of  our  members. 

7.  But  in  every  case  where  a  dispute  occurs  between 
a  preacher  and  the  charge  he  has  served  about  ' '  back 
salary,"  the  case  should  be  submitted  to  arbitration,  and 
not  dragged  into  the  civil  courts,  for  adjustment. 

8.  If  a  member  refuses  to  arbitrate  when  recom- 
mended to  do  so  by  a  preacher  or  leader,  he  renders 
himself  liable  to  charges,  "as  in  the  case  of  other 
immoralities." 

9.  Should  one  of  our  members  or  preachers  enter 
into  litigation  with  another  member  or  preacher  of  our 
Church  before  the  case  is  submitted  to  arbitration,  he 
assumes  the  responsibility,  if  arrested,  of  showing  that 
the  case  was  of  such  a  nature  as  to  require  and  justify 
a  process  at  law. 


CHAPTER  V. 

CHURCH  PROPERTY. 
Section  I.— Houses  of  Worship  and  Parsonages. 

1.  All  our  church  property,  real  and  personal,  of 
whatever  name  or  description,  is  vested  in  a  board  of 
trustees,  which  holds  it  in  trust  for  the  use  of  the  mem- 
bership of  the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ. 
The  Discipline  requires  that  when  it  is  contemplated 
to  purchase  or  build  a  church  house  or  parsonage,  a 
competent  board  of  trustees  of  not  less  than  three  in 
number,  or  as  many  as  the  statute  of  the  State  requires, 
be  appointed  by  the  quarterly  conference.  The  same 
course  is  to  be  pursued  in  the  purchase  or  building  of 
all  church  property.  The  Discipline  also  discounte- 
nances the  incurring  of  heavy  liabilities  in  erecting 
houses  of  worship  and  parsonages,  and  wisely  admon- 
ishes to  avoid  embarrassing  church  debts. 

2.  "No  board  of  trustees  shall  commence  the  build- 
ing of  a  church  house  or  parsonage  without  first 
submitting  their  plans  and  estimates  of  lot,  or  lots, 
and  building  to  the  ofiicial  board  or  quarterly  conference 
for  consideration,  approval,  and  directions.  Nor  shall 
they  proceed  to  buy  or  build  without  first  procuring  an 
incorporation  of  their  board,  such  as  the  State  requires, 
nor  without  securing  and  recording  a  warranty  deed, 
prepared  by  the  Church-Erection  Society,  to  themselves 
and  their  successors  in  office  for  the  real  estate  which 
they  purchase,  nor  until  they  have  the  necessary  means 
either  in  hand  or  sufficiently  assured,  thus  securing 
harmony  of  action  and  avoiding  the  involving  of  our 

98 


MANUAI.  OF  DISCIPLINE 


99 


houses    of   worship    and   parsonages  in   embarrassing 
debts." 

3.  The  treasurer  of  the  board  is  to  receive  all  the 
funds  of  the  board,  and  to  pay  out  the  same  under  the 
direction  of  the  board  on  order  signed  by  the  president 
and  secretary. 

4.  When  the  statutes  of  the  State  or  Territory  pre- 
scribe no  definite  mode  of  election,  the  quarterly 
conference  elects  all  our  church  and  parsonage  trustee 
boards  and  fills  all  vacancies  occuring  therein,  a  ma- 
jority of  whom  must  be  members  of  the  Church  of  the 
United  Brethren  in  Christ. 

5.  The  trustees  of  church  and  parsonage  property 
hold  their  office  only  at  the  pleasure  of  the  quarterly 
conference.  Bishops'  ruling  in  1877  (Minutes,  p.  16): 
"As  to  the  right  of  quarterly  conference  to  depose  old 
trustees  and  elect  new  ones,  the  Discipline  says  that 
the  trustees  of  church  property  shall  hold  their  office 
during  the  pleasure  of  the  quarterly  conference.  The 
quarterly  conference  has,  therefore,  the  right  to  dismiss 
old  trustees  without  preferring  charges  or  formally 
making  complaint  against  them.  (All  members  of  the 
quarterly  conference  have  a  right  to  vote  till  they  are 
dismissed  according  to  Discipline.)" 

6.  In  our  Church,  the  trustees  of  church  houses  have 
the  control  of  all  the  material  improvements  of  our 
church  property  in  the  w^ay  of  building,  repairing, 
lighting,  heating,  and  insuring  the  property,  and  all 
other  material  interests,  but  they  have  no  control  of  the 
pulpits,  and  may  not  close  the  doors  of  the  churches 
against  any  one  of  our  preachers  who  is  in  regular 
standing.  It  avails  nothing  in  such  a  case,  even  if  a 
majority  of  the  membership  requests  them  to  close  the 
doors  ;  nor  may  the\^  dictate  to  the  pastor  when  he  shall 
preach,  how  he  shall  preach,  or  what  he  shall  preach, 


lOO  MANUAL   OF   UNITED   BRETHREN 

for  the  pastor  is  not  amenable  to  them.  Bishops'  ruling 
in  1892  (Minutes,  p.  ']']):  "All  material  improvements 
in  churches  and  church  property  are  under  the  control 
or  direction  of  the  church  trustees." 

7.  The  trustees  may  not  make  use  of  the  church  at 
such  time  as  it  is  not  occupied  by  the  pastor  at  variance 
with  his  wishes  and  the  object  for  which  the  house  of 
worship  was  constructed.  Where  a  difference  of  this  or 
like  character  obtains  between  pastor  and  trustees,  the 
matter  must  rest  until  decided  by  the  quarterly  confer- 
ence. Bishops'  ruling  in  1887  (Minutes,  p.  63)  :  "The 
trustees  of  our  meeting-houses  have  control  of  the  prop- 
erty, but  only  in  the  interest  of  religion  and  the  Church  ; 
and  when  pastor  and  trustees  disagree  as  to  what  niaj^ 
be  allowed  or  disallowed  in  the  church  houses,  the 
matter  shall  rest  and  be  referred  to  the  next  sitting  of 
the  quarterly  conference  for  adjustment." 

8.  The  trustees  may  lease,  rent,  or  sell  church  or 
parsonage  property  within  its  jurisdiction  only  when 
authorized  by  the  quarterl3^  conference,  but  the  proceeds 
must  be  used  strictly  as  the  Discipline  directs. 

9.  The  transfer  of  a  society  by  the  General  Conference 
from  one  annual  conference  to  another,  carries  with  it 
jurisdiction  over  the  church  property  as  well  as  over  the 
society.  Bishops'  ruling  in  1882  (Minutes,  p.  33): 
"When  a  society  has  been  transferred  from  one  annual 
conference  district  to  another  by  the  General  Conference, 
the  annual  conference  to  which  said  society  has  been 
transferred  has  entire  jurisdiction  over  the  church  prop- 
erty as  well  as  over  the  society  ;  and  said  society  stands 
in  the  same  relation  to  the  quarterly  conference  as  any 
other  society  or  class  in  said  annual  conference." 

10.  While  our  pulpits  are  open  to  ministers  of  ortho- 
dox denominations  when  not  occupied  b}'  our  own 
brethren,  yet  this  does  not  imply  that  we  must  necessarily 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  lOI 

permit  every  one  to  enter  who  comes.  It  is  not  the  spirit 
of  our  Discipline  on  this  subject,  that  ministers  of  other 
denominations  may  come  into  our  churches,  establish 
regular  appointments,  and  organize  societies  of  their 
own  denomination  ;  but  about  all  that  is  intended  is, 
that  the  stranger  who  is  a  man  of  God  may  be  permitted 
to  enter  and  deliver  his  message  and  then  "go  on  his 
way  rejoicing."  But,  usually,  surrounding  circum- 
stances indicate  what  is  just  and  right  on  the  subject. 

11.  The  pews  in  all  our  churches  are  free  and  open  to 
the  public  as  well  as  to  our  own  membership. 

12.  An  abandoned  church  house  is  one  that  is  no 
longer  used  by  our  own  people  for  preaching  or  other 
religious  purposes.  Where  a  church  house  belonging  to 
our  denomination  becomes  thus  abandoned,  and  is  not 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  of  our  quarterly  confer- 
ences, the  Discipline  directs  "the  presiding  elder  of  the 
district  in  which  such  house  is  located  to  report  to 
the  annual  conference,  which  body  shall  have  power  to 
appoint  a  board  of  trustees,  who  shall  rent,  lease,  or  sell 
such  house  of  worship,  as  they  deem  advisable,  and  report 
their  proceedings  to  the  annual  conference. ' '  This  annual 
conference  may  use  the  "proceeds"  thus  accruing  from 
the  foregoing  process  "to  pay  debts  on  other  houses  of 
worship,  build  new  houses,  or  turn  the  money  into  the 
funds  of  the  Church-Erection  Society,  as  may  seem 
proper,  at  its  own  discretion";  but  "in  no  case  shall 
a  church  house  and  its  premises  be  sold  without  the 
consent  of  the  annual  conference  within  whose  bounds 
it  is  located." 

13.  A  permanently  abandoned  parsonage  is  one  that 
is  no  longer  used  for  parsonage  purposes  by  our  people 
and  not  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  of  our  quarterly 
conferences  ;  such  parsonage  must  be  reported  to  the 
annual  conference  by  the  presiding  elder  of  the  district 


I02  MANUAL   OF   UNITED   BRETHREN 

within  which  the  abandoned  parsonage  is  located,  and 
the  annual  conference  is  authorized,  under  disciplinary- 
provisions,  "to  appoint  a  board  of  trustees,  who  shall 
rent  or  sell  such  parsonage,  and  pay  over  the  proceeds  to 
the  annual  conference,  which  body  shall  expend  the 
same  in  paying  debts  on  other  parsonages,  or  in  build- 
ing new  ones  within  its  borders." 

14.  The  trustees  of  religious  corporations,  b}'  virtue 
of  their  office,  are  considered  as  lawfully  seized  of  the 
property  under  their  trust ;  hence,  if  a  board  of  church 
trustees  should  close  the  church  doors  against  the 
preacher  in  charge  and  congregation,  they  have  no 
right  to  make  a  forcible  entry  into  the  church,  even  if 
the  trUvStees  are  wholly  wrong  in  closing  the  doors.  If 
they  have  violated  their  trust,  the  minister  and  congre- 
gation have  ample  remedy  to  right  the  wrong,  but  it 
does  not  consist  in  physical  force.  While  the  trustees 
are  entitled  to  civil  protection  against  unlawful  and  all 
irregular  intrusion  of  any  person  so  long  as  the}^  are  in 
possession  of  the  property,  they  are  also  responsible  to 
the  society,  not  to  a  mob,  for  the  faithful  discharge  of 
the  trust  committed  to  them,  and  legally  liable  to  civil 
action  for  any  usurpation  in  office, 

15.  The  trustees  of  our  denomination  seem  to  be 
restricted  in  their  powers  to  holding  real  estate  and 
such  personal  property  as  has  been  acquired  for  the 
benefit  and  use  of  the  Church ;  they  may  raise  funds  for 
extraordinary  expenses,  vsuch  as  building  new  churches, 
making  repairs,  paying  old  debts,  and  for  the  purpose 
of  increasing  and  improving  the  property  of  the  society, 
but  they  may  not  forbid  the  stewards  of  the  church  to 
raise  contributions  for  the  support  of  the  gospel  and  the 
various  benevolent  institutions  of  the  Church,  nor  may 
they  claim  that  the  funds  thus  raised  for  any  of  these 
purposes  shall  be  paid  into  their  hands.     The  Discipline 


CHURCH   DISCIPI.INE  IO3 

provides  how  and  who  are  to  hold  and  disburse  these 
funds.  Nor  may  any  of  our  boards  of  church  trustees 
appropriate  in  whole  or  in  part  any  of  the  funds  which 
they  have  raised  to  the  paying  of  pastor's  salary,  or  for 
any  purpose  whatever  other  than  that  for  which  the 
funds  were  raised.  Bishops'  ruling,  1895  :  "Can  the  trus- 
tees or  official  board  use  money  collected  for  building 
purposes  or  church  or  parsonage  debts — use  it  or  any 
part  of  it  to  pay  pastor's  salary?  A?is.  They  cannot." 
Nor  may  a  preacher  retain  any  money  collected  by  him- 
self or  any  other  person  for  a  church  house  or  parsonage 
or  for  debts  on  the  same  and  apply  it  on  his  salary. 
Bishops'  ruling,  1895:  "Can  a  minister  retain  money 
collected  for  a  church  or  parsonage  or  for  debts  on  same  — 
retain  it  or  any  part  of  it  for  his  salary,  or  hold  it  as  an 
offset  of  back  salary  ?    Ans.     He  cannot." 

16.  The  board  of  trustees  is  amenable  to  its  quarterly 
conference,  and  through  its  treasurer  reports  its  financial 
condition  to  the  quarterly  conference  "  at  least  once  each 
year ' ' ;  hence,  the  quarterly  conference  must  fill  all  vacan- 
cies occurring  in  the  board  and  see  that  no  usurpation 
of  authority  or  failure  to  discharge  the  obligation  of  its 
trust  is  tolerated.  Should  it  occur  at  any  time  that 
legal  steps  be  necessary  to  arrest  the  undue  actions 
of  the  board,  the  quarterly  conference  is  the  proper 
body  to  give  direction  on  the  subject. 

Section  n.— Subscription  Papers. 

I.  The  form  of  a  subscription  has  little  to  do  with 
making  it  legally  collectible.  But  it  must  set  forth 
clearly  the  object  for  which  the  subscription  is  taken  and 
the  time  when  it  is  due,  in  whole  or  in  part,  and  should 
be  made  payable  to  the  board  of  trustees  or  some  other 
body  having  authority  to  collect.  Money  expended  or 
a  contract  let  by  the  one  party,  the  completion  of  which  is 


I04  MANUAL   OF  DISCIPLINE 

desired  by  both  parties,  is  a  legal  consideration  for  the 
promise  of  the  other. 

2.  A  subscription  given  for  the  erection  of  a  church 
house  or  any  other  church  purpose  to  be  paid  in  labor  or 
material  at  the  option  of  the  subscriber,  is  collectible, 
and  when  there  is  a  clear  presumption  that  the  sub- 
scriber knows  that  the  house  is  being  erected  or  the 
purpose  for  which  the  subscription  was  given  is  being 
executed,  a  demand  on  him  for  paj-ment  prior  to  the 
completion  of  the  building  or  the  purpose  for  which  it 
was  given  is  not  necessary  to  keep  the  subscription  in 
force.  But  the  subscriber  can  only  be  required  to  make 
such  payment  at  the  place  where  the  building  is  erected, 
or  at  a  place  equally  convenient  for  him  to  ipa.y,  and 
a  demand  upon  him  for  payment  after  the  house  is  com- 
pleted is  sufficient.  For  the  subscriber  to  free  himself 
from  such  obligation  he  must  make  offer  of  payment  to 
the  body  to  whom  his  subscription  is  made  payable  or 
to  the  person  or  persons  to  whom  it  has  been  transferred. 

3.  Subscriptions  not  collectible. 

(i)  A  conditional  subscription  is  not  collectible 
when  any  one  of  the  conditions  stated  in  the  subscrip- 
tion is  not  met. 

( 2 )  A  subscription  secured  by  having  some  influen- 
tial person  make  a  large  subscription  to  induce  others 
to  subscribe,  with  the  secret  understanding  that  he  is 
not  to  pay  his,  is  not  collectible. 

(3)  No  fictitious  subscription  whatever  is  collectible. 

(4)  If  the  purpose  for  which  a  subscription  was 
raised  was  never  attempted  to  be  carried  out  or  exe- 
cuted, the  subscription  is  not  collectible. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
RULES  OF  ORDER. 

Section  I.— Introductory. 

1 .  In  a  deliberative  body, ' '  rules  of  order  "  and  a  strict 
adherence  to  them  are  of  primary  importance  to  the 
maintenance  of  good  order  and  harmonious  work  in 
the  body,  and  the  only  means  of  protection  to  the 
weaker  party  against  that  wantonness  of  power  which 
is  too  often  manifest  in  large  and  successful-  majorities. 

Every  church  officer  is  not  unfrequently  called  upon 
to  preside  over  others  in  the  sphere  of  his  office,  and 
should,  therefore,  have  a  knowledge  of  a  well-regulate4 
system  of  rules  of  order  adapted  to  deliberative  assem- 
blies. 

2.  A  bishop  is  the  president  of  the  annual  and  General 
conferences  and  of  the  Board  of  Missions,  presiding  offi- 
cer in  the  sessions  of  mission  districts,  and  chairman  in 
case  of  arbitration  and  trial  of  a  bishop. 

3.  The  presiding  elder  of  the  district  is  the  presiding 
officer  in  quarterly  conference  and  in  the  arbitration  and 
trial  of  annual  conference  preachers  and  presiding  elders. 

4.  The  ' '  preacher  in  charge ' '  is  the  chairman  in  the 
arbitration  and  trial  of  quarterly  conference  preachers, 
exhorters,  and  la^^  members,  and  also  of  the  official 
board  for  stations,  etc. 

The  following  rules  of  order  will  be  found  useful  in 
the  conduct  of  business. 

Section  II.— Organization. 

I .   An  organization  may  be  temporary  or  permanent.  In 

105 


I06  MANUAL   OF   UNITED   BRETHREN 

case  a  temporary  organization  is  necessary,  the  time 
announced  for  the  meeting  having  arrived,  some  mem- 
ber of  the  assembly  should  step  forward  and  call  "the 
house"  to  order,  suggesting  at  the  same  time  the  ap- 
pointing of  a  chairman  pro  te7n.,  and  preside  until  such 
chairman  is  appointed.  One  or  more  persons  should  at 
once  be  put  in  nomination.  The  nominations  having 
been  completed,  the  nominees,  in  the  order  of  their 
nominations,  should  be  submitted  to  a  vote  of  the 
assembly,  and  the  one  receiving  a  majority  of  the  votes 
cast  should  be  declared  elected  and  called  to  the  chair. 
On  taking  his  seat,  the  chairman  should  conduct  the 
devotional  services,  or  call  upon  some  person  to  officiate 
in  his  stead. 

2.  After  the  devotional  exercises,  a  secretary  ^r<?  tem. 
or  secretaries  should  be  appointed,  the  first  named  of 
which  is  the  chief  officer. 

3.  In  an  assembly  where  the  delegates  or  members  are 
elected  or  appointed,  it  becomes  necessary  to  know  who 
are  properly  members  of  the  assembly  and  entitled  to 
vote  before  the  permanent  organization  is  effected. 
This  may  be  done  by  appointing  a  committee,  or  the 
credentials  may  be  passed  to  the  secretar}'  and  the  names 
of  the  members  recorded.  In  case  of  a  committee  being 
appointed,  on  a  motion  to  accept  its  report  only  those 
can  vote  whom  the  committee  reports  as  having  proper 
credentials.  If  the  seat  of  a  member  is  contested,  it  is 
his  right  to  state  his  case  to  the  assembly,  and  then 
he  should  retire  until  the  case  is  determined  by  the 
assembly,  only  those  members  voting  whose  seats  are 
undisputed. 

4.  The  question  of  credentials  having  been  settled,  at 
least  for  the  time  being,  by  the  assembly,  the  election 
of  permanent  officers  is  next  in  order.  This  may 
be  done  by  appointing  a  committee  to  nominate  the 


CHURCH   DISCIPWNE  IO7 

permanent  officers  of  the  association,  and  adopting  its 
report :  or  it  may  be  effected  b}'  the  assembly  nominating 
the  officers  viva  voce,  and  confirming  the  nominations. 
In  adopting  the  report  of  the  nominating  committee  or 
confirmmg  the  nominations  made  by  the  assembl}-,  the 
vote  must  be  taken  as  per  the  constitution  of  the  associ- 
ation or,  when  there  is  no  constitutional  prohibition, 
the  vote  may  be  taken  bj'  ballot  or  otherwise,  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  association.  The  result  of  the  election 
being  declared  by  the  chairman  pro  tern.,  the  officers 
elect  are  at  once  called  to  enter  upon  the  duties  of  their 
office. 

Section  111.— The  Presiding  Officer. 

1.  This  officer's  duties  are  as  follows  : 

(  I )  To  take  the  chair  at  the  appointed  time  and  call 
the  house  to  order. 

(2)    To  direct  the  devotional  services. 

(  3 )     To  state  the  order  of  business  before  the  assembly. 

(4)  To  state  and  put  all  motions  properly  submitted 
to  the  assembly  and  declare  the  result. 

( 5  )  To  preserve  order  and  decorum  among  the  mem- 
bers. 

(6)  To  authenticate  all  the  proceedings  of  the 
assembly  by  his  signature. 

(7)  To  appoint  committees  as  per  the  instructions  of 
the  assembly. 

(  8  )     To  decide  all  questions  of  order,  subject  to  appeal. 

2.  Some  of  the  7'ights  of  a  presiding  officer  are  as 
follows  : 

(i)  He  may  vote  when  his  ballot  would  affect  the 
result  or  when  the  voting  is  by  ballot. 

(2)  He  may  interrupt  a  speaker  when  he  is  out  of 
order. 

(3 )  He  should  in  no  sense  be  partisan  in  his  feelings 


I08  MANUAL   OF   UNITED   BRETHREN 

and  manifestation,  but  sit  as  an  impartial  officer;  yet 
it  is  the  right  of  the  presiding  officer  to  address  the 
assembly  on  questions.  If  it  be  a  question  of  order  he 
should  not  leave  the  chair,  but  on  all  other  questions  he 
ma}'  call  a  member  to  the  chair. 

3.  In  the  absence  of  the  president,  the  vice-president 
presides.  If  a  vice-president  is  not  present,  or  there 
be  no  vice-presidents,  a  president  pro  tern,  should  be 
elected  to  preside  until  the  president  comes. 

Section  IV.— The  Recording  Officer. 

1.  The  duties  of  the  secretary  of  an  assembly  in  the 
main  are  : 

( 1 )  To  keep  a  record  of  all  the  proceedings  of  the 
assembly  and  to  enter  in  the  journal  all  the  things  done 
and  passed. 

(2)  To  call  the  roll,  record  the  minutes,  and  to  read 
all  papers  and  documents  submitted  to  the  assembly. 

( 3 )  To  authenticate  all  the  acts  of  the  assembly. 

(4)  To  take  the  custody  of  all  papers  and  documents 
belonging  to  the  assembly,  including  the  journal  of  its 
proceedings,  and  allow  none  to  be  removed  from  his 
table  without  leave  of  the  assembly. 

( 5 )  The  secretary  should  stand  while  calling  the  roll 
and  reading. 

(6)  He  must  notify  all  committees  of  their  appoint- 
ment and  of  the  business  referred  to  them. 

2.  When  the  secretary  is  absent,  a  secretary  p7V  tern. 
should  be  appointed,  who  may  act  only  during  the 
absence  of  the  secretary. 

Section  V.— Rights  of  Members. 

The  rights   of  members  of  a   deliberative  body   are 
based  on  their  absolute  equality  among  themselves. 
I.     Every  member  of  the  assembly  has  an  equal  right 


CHURCH    DISCIPI.INE  IO9 

with  his  brother  member  to  submit  his  propositions,  to 
explain  and  discuss  them,  and  have  them  patiently  ex- 
amined and  without  haste  decided  upon  by  the  assembly. 

2.  No  member  maj^  be  interrupted  while  speaking, 
so  long  as  he  is  in  order. 

3.  If  a  member  believe  himself  to  be  misrepresented, 
he  has  a  right  to  explain. 

4.  No  member  may  violate  the  rules  of  decorum. 

5.  If  the  president  declare  a  member  guilt}'  of  violat- 
ing the  rules  of  decorum,  it  is  the  right  of  the  accused 
to  be  heard  in  his  own  defense  and  then  withdraw. 

6.  It  is  the  right  of  the  bodj'  to  punish  by  repri- 
manding, by  prohibiting  to  speak  and  vote  for  a  time, 
and  by  expulsion,  or  to  require  the  offender  to  ask 
pardon  on  pain  of  expulsion. 

7.  Any  member  desiring  to  speak  must  address  the 
chair,  b}^  his  proper  title. 

8.  Should  tw^o  or  more  members  desiring  to  obtain 
the  floor  address  the  chair  at  the  same  time,  the  pre- 
siding officer  should  recognize  that  one  whose  voice 
he  first  hears ;  if  there  be  a  difference  of  opinion,  the 
assembly  may  decide  who  shall  have  the  floor. 

Section  VI.— Introduction  of  Business— Motions. 

1.  All  motions  and  resolutions  must  be  reduced  to 
writing  if  it  be  the  request  of  the  president,  secretary, 
or  any  two  members  of  the  body. 

2.  When  amotion  has  been  introduced  and  seconded, 
that  it  may  be  in  "  the  possession  of  the  house"  the 
president  must  state  it  to  the  assembly. 

3.  A  motion  maj^  not  be  entertained  without  a  sec- 
ond, and  must  be  stated  bj^  the  president  before  it  is 
open  to  debate. 

4.  A  motion  may  be  withdraw^n  by  the  mover,  no  one 
objecting,  at  any  time  before  decision  or  amendment. 


no  MANUAIv  OF  UNITED  BRETHREN 

5.  Two  motions  of  the  same  order  may  not  be  enter- 
tained at  the  same  time. 

6.  When  a  motion  or  a  resolution  is  pending,  it 
must  be  disposed  of  before  a  new  motion  or  resolution 
of  the  same  order  may  be  entertained.  This  may  be 
done  :  ( i )  By  indefinite  postponement ;  ( 2 )  laying  it 
on  the  table;  (3)  reference  to  a  committee;  (4)  post- 
poning to  a  time  fixed;  (5)  substitute;  (6)  amend- 
ment; (7)  adoption  or  rejection.  They  have  precedence 
in  the  order  in  which  they  are  here  arranged. 

Section  VII.— The  Main  Question. 

This  principal  motion,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  is 
that  by  which  any  subject  is  brought  before  a  delibera- 
tive body  for  consideration. 

1.  It  should  always  be  in  writing. 

2.  It  yields  to  everything  except  another  principal 
motion. 

3.  It  takes  precedence  of  nothing  except  another 
principal  motion. 

4.  A  principal  motion  cannot  be  made  when  another 
question  is  before  the  house. 

Section  VIII.— Privileged  Motions. 

1.  To  Fix  the  Time  to  Which  to  Adjourn. 

( 1 )  This  motion  is  in  order  even  after  a  vote  to 
adjourn  is  had,  but  not  announced  by  the  chair. 

( 2 )  It  can  be  amended  by  changing  the  time. 

(3)  It  becomes  the  principal  motion  when  no  other 
motion  is  before  the  house. 

( 4 )  It  is  not  open  to  debate  when  another  motion  is 
pending. 

(5)  It  may  not  be  renewed  without  intervening 
business. 

2.  To  Adjourn. 


CHURCH   DISCIPI.INE  III 

( I )     If  qualified,  it  becomes  the  principal  motion. 

(  2 )  If  unqualified,  it  is  not  open  to  debate,  nor  can  it 
have  any  subsidiary  motion  applied  to  it ;  nor  can  it  be 
repeated  without  progress  in  business. 

3.  Questions  of  Privilege. 

( 1 )  If  immediate  action  is  necessary,  a  member  while 
speaking  may  be  interrupted  by  a  question  of  privilege. 

(2)  Whether  it  is  a  question  of  privilege  is  to  be 
decided  by  the  chair,  subject  to  appeal. 

(3)  Such  questions  may  have  any  subsidiary  motion 
applied  to  them. 

(4)  Final  action  on  a  question  of  privilege  need  not 
be  taken  at  once. 

4.  Orders  of  the  Day. 

( 1 )  The  orders  of  the  day  cannot  be  taken  up  if  a 
majority  of  the  assembly  objects. 

( 2 )  A  motion  to  take  up  a  part  of  the  orders  of  the 
day  is  not  a  privileged  motion. 

(3 )  A  motion,  to  be  made  a  special  order  of  the  day, 
requires  a  two-thirds  vote,  and  takes  precedence  of  the 
general  order. 

(4)  Special  orders  cannot  be  taken  up  before  the 
time  fixed  without  a  two-thirds  vote. 

( 5 )  A  motion  to  take  up  the  orders  of  the  day  does 
not  require  a  second  ;  it  is  usually  adopted  by  "general 
consent." 

( 6 )  It  may  not  be  debated. 

Section  IX.— Incidental  Motions. 

I.    Appeals  on  Questions  of  Order. 
( I )     An  appeal  must  be  seconded. 
( 2  )     It  cannot  be  laid  on  the  table. 

( 3)  If  debatable,  the  previous  question  applies  to  it. 

(4)  It  may  be  reconsidered. 

(5)  It  is  not  debatable  when  it  applies  simply  to  de- 


112  MANUAL   OF   UNITED   BRETHREN 

corum,  transgression  of  rules,  priority  of  business,   or 
while  the  previous  question  is  pending. 

(6)  When  it  is  debatable,  no  member  can  speak  more 
than  once. 

(7)  It  is  not  in  order  when  another  appeal  is  pending. 

(8)  It  cannot  be  amended. 

2.  Objections  to  Co?isideri?ig  a  Question. 

(i)  Objection  must  be  made  when  the  question  is 
first  introduced  and  before  debate. 

( 2 )  It  requires  a  two-thirds  vote  to  sustain  the  ob- 
jection. 

(3)  It  does  not  require  a  second. 

(4)  It  cannot  be  debated. 

(5)  A  subsidiary  motion  cannot  be  applied  to  it. 

(6)  It  cannot  be  amended. 

3.  The  Readijig  of  Papers. 

( 1 )  Any  member  of  the  assembly  has  a  right  to  have 
the  paper  read  before  voting. 

( 2 )  The  question  of  granting  permission  to  have  the 
paper  read  cannot  be  debated. 

( 3  )    The  question  cannot  be  amended. 

4.  Withdrawal  of  a  Motion. 

( 1 )  If  the  mover  of  a  question  before  the  assembly 
desires  to  withdraw  or  modify  it,  or  to  offer  a  substitute, 
permission  is  granted  by  the  presiding  officer,  if  no 
objection  is  offered. 

(2)  If  objection  be  made,  a  motion  to  grant  permis- 
sion to  withdraw  becomes  necessary. 

(3)  This  motion  is  undebatable  and  cannot  be 
amended. 

( 4 )  The  effect  of  withdrawal  of  a  motion  is  the  same 
as  if  it  had  never  been  placed  before  the  assembly. 

5.  Suspensio7i  of  R2iles. 

( I )    To  suspend  the  rules  requires  a  two-thirds  vote. 
(  2 )    The  motion  to  suspend  is  not  open  to  debate. 


CHURCH  DISCIPWNE  II3 

( 3 )  It  may  not  be  reconsidered. 

(4)  A  motion  to  suspend  the  rules  for  the  same  pur- 
pose cannot  be  renewed. 

(5)  A  subsidiary  motion  cannot  be  applied  to  it. 

(6)  Ii  cannot  be  amended. 

Section  X.— Subsidiary  Motions. 

1.  To  Lay  on  the  Table. 

( 1 )  It  removes  the  subject  from  the  assembly  until 
taken  from  the  table. 

(2)  It  takes  with  it  everything  that  adheres  to  the 
subject,  except  in  case  of  an  appeal,  a  motion  to  recon- 
sider, and  a  motion  to  amend  the  minutes. 

(3)  It  cannot  be  debated. 

(4)  An  affirmative  vote  on  it  cannot  be  reconsidered. 

(5)  A  subsidiar}'  motion  cannot  be  applied  to  it. 

(6)  It  is  not  subject  to  amendment. 

2.  The  Previous  Quest io?i. 

( 1 )  It  takes  precedence  of  all  debatable  questions. 

(2)  It  applies  to  all  debatable  and  privileged  ques- 
tions. 

(3)  A  member  may  offer  a  resolution  and  move  the 
previous  question  at  the  same  time. 

( 4 )  It  must  be  seconded  and  receive  a  two-thirds  vote, 

(5)  It  may  be  restricted  to  an  amendment  or  an 
amendment  to  an  amendment,  but  it  must  be  so  stated 
at  the  time  the  motion  is  made. 

(6 )  It  cannot  be  debated. 

(7)  It  cannot  be  amended. 

3.  To  Postpone  to  a  Certain  Day. 

( 1 )  The  previous  question  applies  to  it,  but  does  not 
affect  other  pending  motions. 

( 2 )  It  is  not  debatable,  except  on  the  propriety  of 
postponement. 

(3)  The  subject  thus  postponed  cannot  be  taken  up 


114  MANUAI,  OP  UNITED  BRETHREN 

before  the  time  to  which  it  has  been  postponed,  except 
by  a  two-thirds  vote. 

4.  A  Motion  to  Commit. 

( 1 )  This  motion  may  be  amended  by  changing  the 
committee  or  by  instructing  the  committee. 

( 2 )  It  is  debatable,  and  opens  the  main  question  to 
debate. 

5.  A  Motio7i  to  Amend. 

( i)     If  required,  it  should  be  in  writing. 

(2)  A  substitute  or  an  amendment  may  be  amended. 

(3)  An  amendment  to  an  amendment  cannot  be 
amended. 

6.  Indefinite  Postponement. 

( 1 )  A  motion  to  postpone  indefinitely  is  debatable, 
but  cannot  be  amended.  If  decided  in  the  afi&rmative, 
the  motion  postponed  cannot  be  taken  up  during  that 
session  ;  if  in  the  negative,  the  original  motion  is  yet 
before  the  assembly  for  disposal. 

(2)  It  opens  the  main  question  to  debate. 

(3)  The  previous  question  applies  to  it,  but  does  not 
affect  other  pending  motions. 

Section  XI.— Miscellaneous  Motions. 

I.     To  Reconsider. 

(i)  This  motion  is  in  order,  even  after  the  vote  to 
adjourn  has  been  taken,  but  not  announced  by  the  chair. 

( 2 )  It  must  be  made  on  the  same  day  the  vote  to  be 
reconsidered  is  taken,  but  need  not  at  that  time  be  con- 
sidered. 

(  3 )  It  must  be  made  by  a  member  who  voted  on  the 
prevailing  side. 

(4 )  It  is  debatable,  if  the  question  to  be  reconsidered 
is  debatable,  and  then  it  opens  the  main  question. 

(5)  The  previous  question  applies  to  it  without 
affecting  other  pending  questions. 


CHURCH  DISCIPIvINE;  II5 

(6)  An  amended  motion  must  be  reconsidered  before 
the  amendment. 

(  7 )  It  suspends  all  action  required  by  the  original 
motion  until  it  is  acted  on. 

(8)  An  incidental  or  subsidiary  motion  must  be 
acted  on  at  once,  unless  the  vote  to  be  reconsidered 
removes  the  whole  subject. 

(9)  It  takes  precedence  of  everything,  except  to  fix 
the  time  to  adjourn  or  to  adjourn. 

( 10 )  If  the  motion  to  reconsider  is  adopted,  it  places 
the  original  motion  in  the  same  position  as  it  was  before 
the  vote  was  taken. 

( 11 )  It  requires  only  a  majority  vote  in  any  case. 

( 12 )  It  cannot  be  amended. 

( 13 )  It  cannot  be  acted  on  when  another  question  is 
before  the  house. 

(14)  No  question  can  be  reconsidered  a  second  time. 

(15)  This  motion  cannot  apply  to  a  vote  on  a  motion 
to  adjourn  or  to  suspend  the  rules,  nor  to  an  alSirmative 
vote  to  lie  on  the  table  or  to  take  from  the  table. 

(16)  It  may  be  laid  on  the  table,  which  vote  cannot 
be  reconsidered. 

(17)  The  previous  question  partly  executed  cannot 
be  reconsidered. 

(18)  Any  vote  that  has  caused  an  action  that  cannot 
be  reversed  cannot  be  reconsidered. 

(19)  It  cannot  interfere  with  the  discussion  of  a 
question  which  is  before  the  assembly. 

2.     Filling  Blanks. 

The  filling  of  blanks  is  not  unfrequently  left  to  the 
assembly.  The  proposition  to  fill  is  an  original  motion, 
not  an  amendment. 

( 1 )  In  filling  blanks,  the  largest  sum  and  longest 
time  should  first  be  voted  on. 

( 2 )  Suggestions  to  fill  blanks  may  be  made  without 


Il6  MANUAL   OF  UNITED   BRETHREN 

the  formality  of  a  motion,  and  taken  by  "general  con- 
sent," if  it  so  please  the  assembly. 

(3)  Nominations  may  be  made  without  the  formality 
of  a  motion,  and  should  be  put  in  the  order  in  which 
they  are  made.  The  nominations  that  follow  the  first 
are  not  amendments  to  the  first,  nor  one  of  another. 

3.     Renewing  Motions. 

( I )  A  motion  to  adjourn  may  be  renewed  after  the 
transaction  of  some  business. 

(  2 )  All  privileged,  incidental,  and  subsidiary  motions 
may  be  renewed  after  any  motion  changing  the  state  of 
affairs  "before  the  house,"  except  the  orders  of  the  day, 
the  suspension  of  the  rules,  and  a  motion  to  amend. 

(3 )  A  principal  motion  and  amendments  once  decided 
cannot  be  acted  on  again  at  the  same  session,  except  by 
a  motion  to  reconsider. 

Section  XII.— Undebatable  Questions. 

The  following  questions  not  above  named  are  not 
debatable : 

1.  Any  motion  which  relates  to  priority  of  business. 

2.  Ivimiting  or  closing  debate. 

3.  A  motion  granting  leave  to  a  member  who  is 
guilty  of  indecorum  in  debate,  to  continue  his  speech. 

Section  XIII.— A  Two-Thirds  Vote. 

In  addition  to  questions  already  given  requiring  a 
two-thirds  vote  are  the  following: 

1.  To  amend  the  rules  of  order. 

2.  To  take  up  a  question  out  of  its  regular  order. 

3.  To  close  or  limit  debate. 

Section  XIV.— A  Quorum. 

In  deliberative  bodies  a  quorum  consists  of  a  majority 
of  the  members  where  no  rule  has  been  adopted  fixing 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  II7 

a  less  number.  An  assembly  may  fix  its  quorum  even 
at  less  than  one-twentieth  of  its  number.  When  a 
quorum  is  not  present,  the  only  action  that  can  be  taken 
is  to  adjourn. 

Section  XV.— Rules  of  the  General  Conferences  of  1885-93. 

I.  The  Conference  shall  meet  at  8 :  30  a.m.  and  2  p.m., 
and  adjourn  on  motion. 

II.  The  president  shall  take  the  chair  precisely  at 
the  hour  to  which  the  Conference  stood  adjourned,  and 
shall  cause  that  a  half  hour's  devotional  services  be 
conducted  each  morning,  and  devotional  services,  con- 
sisting in  the  reading  of  the  word  of  God,  singing,  and 
prayer,  be  conducted  each  afternoon. 

III.  When  it  is  apparent  to  the  president  that  a 
quorum  is  present  (a  majority  shall  constitute  a  quo- 
rum), he  shall  have  the  journal  of  the  previous  day's 
proceedings  read  and  approved,  and  the  business  of  the 
Conference  shall  be  conducted  in  the  following  order : 

1.  The  roll  of  the  conferences  shall  be  called  alpha- 
betically, at  which  time  petitions,  memorials,  appeals, 
and  any  business  pertaining  to  the  annual  conferences 
shall  be  presented. 

2.  Reports  —  first  of  standing  committees,  then  of 
special  committees. 

IV.  The  president  shall  decide  all  points  of  order, 
subject  to  an  appeal  to  the  Conference ;  but  in  case  of  an 
appeal  the  question  shall  be  taken  without  debate,  except 
that  the  appellant  may  state  the  grounds  of  his  appeal, 
and  the  chair  may  give  the  grounds  of  his  decision. 

V.  The  bishops  shall  appoint  all  committees,  unless 
otherwise  specially  ordered  by  the  Conference. 

VI.  On  assigning  the  floor  to  any  member,  the  pres- 
ident shall  announce  the  name  of  the  member  and  the 
conference  he  represents. 


Il8  MANUAI,  OF  UNITED   BRETHREN 

VII.  Resolutions  shall  be  presented  in  writing  by 
the  mover,  and  all  motions  shall  be  submitted  in  writing 
when  the  president,  secretar3^  or  any  two  members 
require  it. 

VIII.  When  a  report  is  presented  and  read  by  the 
secretary  or  stated  by  the  president,  or  a  resolution 
introduced  and  seconded,  or  a  motion  made  and  sec- 
onded and  stated  by  the  chair,  it  shall  be  deemed  in 
possession  of  the  Conference. 

IX..  The  motions  to  laj^  on  the  table,  to  take  from 
the  table,  and  the  previous  question  shall  be  taken 
without  debate. 

X.  No  new  motion  shall  be  entertained  until  the 
one  under  consideration  has  been  disposed  of,  except  it 
be  one  of  the  following,  in  which  case  it  shall  have 
precedence : 

1.  To  fix  the  time  to  which  the  Conference  shall 
adjourn. 

2.  -To  adjourn. 

3.  To  take  a  recess. 

4.  To  la}'  on  the  table. 

5.  For  the  previous  question. 

6.  To  postpone  to  a  given  time. 

7.  To  refer. 

8.  To  substitute. 

9.  To  amend. 

10.  To  postpone  indefinitely. 

XI.  A  motion  to  amend  an  amendment  shall  always 
be  in  order.  And  a  substitute  for  both  amendments 
may  be  received,  which  substitute  ma}-  be  amended,  and 
if  the  substitute  be  adopted  it  shall  operate  as  an 
amendment  to  the  original  proposition. 

XII.  Any  member  desiring  to  speak,  or  present  any 
matter  to  the  Conference,  shall  rise  and  respectfully 
address    the   president,   and    announce   his   name   and 


CHURCH    DISCIPLINE  II9 

conference,  but  shall  not  proceed  until  he  is  properly 
recognized  by  the  chair  and  his  name  announced  by 
him. 

XIII.  No  member  shall  be  interrupted  when  speak- 
ing, except  by  the  president  to  call  him  to  order  when 
he  departs  from  the  question  or  uses  offensive  person- 
alities or  disrespectful  language  ;  but  an}-  member  may 
call  the  attention  of  the  president  to  the  matter  when  he 
deems  the  speaker  out  of  order,  and  a  member  may 
explain  when  he  thinks  himself  misrepresented,  the 
Speaker  retaining  the  floor. 

XIV.  When  a  member  desires  to  speak  to  a  question 
of  privilege,  he  shall  briefly  state  the  question  ;  but  it 
shall  not  be  in  order  for  him  to  proceed  until  the  presi- 
dent shall  have  decided  it  a  question  of  privilege. 

XV.  No  person  shall  speak  more  than  twice  on  the 
same  question,  nor  more  than  ten  ( lo)  minutes  at  one 
time,  without  leave  of  the  Conference  ;  nor  shall  any 
person  speak  more  than  once  until  every  member  choos- 
ing to  speak  shall  have  spoken ;  provided,  however, 
that  a  committee  making  a  report  shall  in  all  cases  be 
entitled  to  five  (5 )  minutes  to  close  the  debate,  either  to 
oppose  the  motion  to  lay  the  report  on  the  table,  or,  this 
permission  not  having  been  used,  to  close  the  debate 
on  the  motion  to  adopt.  The  committee,  however,  shall 
not  be  deprived  of  its  right  to  close  the  debate  even  after 
the  previous  question  has  been  ordered. 

XVI.  When  a  question  is  before  the  Conference,  the 
mover  may  withdraw  it  at  any  time  before  it  has  been 
amended,  or  before  a  vote  has  been  taken,  if  no  objection 
is  offered.  If  objection  be  made  to  the  withdrawal,  a 
vote  on  the  motion  to  grant  leave  of  withdrawal  shall  be 
taken,  without  amendment  or  debate. 

XVII.  When  an}^  motion  or  resolution  shall  have  been 
acted  upon  b}'  the  Conference,  it  shall  be  in  order  for 


I20  MANUAL  OF  UNITED  BRETHREN 

any  member  who  voted  with  the  prevailing  side  to  move 
a  reconsideration  ;  but  a  motion  to  reconsider  a  non- 
debatable  motion  must  be  decided  without  debate.  A 
motion  to  reconsider  must  be  made  on  the  same  day  on 
which  the  action  was  taken,  or  the  day  succeeding. 

XVIII.  No  member  shall  absent  himself  from  the 
sessions  of  the  Conference  without  leave,  unless  he  is 
sick  or  otherwise  unable  to  attend. 

XIX.  No  member  shall  be  allowed  to  vote  on  any 
question  who  is  not  within  the  bar  at  the  time  when 
such  question  is  put  by  the  president,  except  by  per- 
mission of  the  Conference. 

XX.  Every  member  who  is  within  the  bar  at  the 
time  the  question  is  put  shall  give  his  vote,  unless 
the  Conference  for  special  reasons  excuse  him. 

XXI.  No  resolution  altering  or  rescinding  any  rule 
of  Discipline  shall  be  adopted  until  it  shall  have  been 
in  the  possession  of  the  Conference  at  least  one  day. 

XXII.  It  shall  be  in  order  for  any  member  to  call 
for  the  yeas  and  nays  on  any  question  before  the  Con- 
ference, and  if  the  call  be  sustained  by  thirty  members 
the  vote  shall  be  taken  by  yeas  and  nays. 

XXIII.  It  shall  be  in  order  to  move  that  the  ques- 
tion be  taken  without  further  debate  on  any  measure 
pending,  which  shall  be  considered  the  same  as  the 
previous  question,  and  if  sustained  by  a  vote  of  two- 
thirds  the  vote  shall  be  so  taken. 

XXIV.  The  motion  to  adjourn  shall  be  submitted 
without  debate,  and  shall  always  be  in  order,  except — 

1.  When  a  motion  is  actually  put,  or  a  vote  is  being 
taken. 

2.  When  the  question  is  pending  on  seconding  the 
demand  for  the  previous  question. 

3.  When  the  previous  question  has  been  called  and 
sustained  and  is  still  pending. 


CHURCH   DISCIPIvINE  121 

4.  When  a  motion  to  adjourn  has  been  negatived  and 
no  business  or  debate  has  intervened. 

XXV.  Members  presenting  memorials,  petitions,  and 
other  papers  for  reference,  shall  prepare  each  paper  by 
writing  in  a  plain  hand  on  the  back  of  it  the  following 
items  in  the  following  order,  namely  : 

1 .  The  name  of  the  member  presenting  the  paper. 

2.  Conference  from  which  it  comes. 

3.  Number  of  petitioners. 

4.  Subject  to  which  it  relates. 

5.  The  committee  to  which  he  desires  it  referred. 
Papers  thus  presented,  if  no  objection  be  made,  shall 

be  referred  as  indicated  without  vote  of  the  Conference. 

XXVI.  All  resolutions  contemplating  verbal  alter- 
ations or  amendments  of  the  Discipline  shall  state  the 
language  of  the  paragraph  or  line  proposed  to  be  altered 
or  amended,  and  also  the  language  proposed  to  be  sub- 
stituted. 

XXVII.  All  committees  proposing  changes  of  Dis- 
cipline shall  not  only  recite  the  paragraph  and  line 
proposed  to  be  amended,  but  also  the  paragraph  as 
amended  complete. 

XXVIII.  All  written  motions  and  reports  after  their 
first  reading,  and  all  communications  to  the  Conference, 
shall  be  passed  to  the  secretary  to  be  read  by  him  as 
the  Conference  may  require. 

XXIX.  Any  demonstration  of  approval  during  the 
progress  of  debate  shall  be  deemed  a  breach  of  order. 

XXX.  All  elections  of  officers  shall  be  by  ballot, 
and  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast  shall  be  necessary 
to  a  choice. 

XXXI.  The  election  of  the  general  officers  of  the 
Church  shall  be  in  the  following  order : 

1.  Bishops. 

2.  Editors  of  the  Telescope. 


122  MANUAI,  OF  DISCIPLINE 

3.  Publishing  agent. 

4.  Editor  of  the  Sunday-school  literature. 

5.  Editor  of  German  literature. 

6.  Missionar}'  secretary. 

7.  Missionary  treasurer. 

8.  Manager  of  Union  Biblical  Seminary. 

9.  Trustees  of  the  Printing  Establishment. 

10.  Members  of  the  Missionary  Board. 

11.  Officers  of  the  Sunday-School  Board. 

12.  Trustees  of  Union  Biblical  Seminary. 

13.  Board  of  Education. 

14.  Board  of  Church  Trustees. 

XXXII.  Any  further  order  of  business  shall  be  deter- 
mined by  the  Conference,  and  in  all  matters  not  covered 
by  these  rules  the  usual  parliamentary  usages  shall  be 
followed. 

XXXIII.  These  rules  shall  not  be  changed  or  sus- 
pended, except  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  members 
present  and  voting;  provided,  that  in  the  order  of 
elections  a  majority  vote  may  determine  a  change. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

FORMULAS  AND  FORMS. 
Section  I.— Ordination  of  Elders. 

1.  On  the  day  appointed,  there  shall  be  a  suitable 
sermon  delivered. 

2.  After  the  names  of  the  candidates  have  been  read 
aloud,  the  bishop  or  elder  shall  address  them  as  follows : 

An  elder  "must  be  blameless,  as  the  steward  of 
God;  not  self-willed,  not  soon  angry,  not  given  to 
wine,  no  striker,  not  given  to  filthy  lucre ;  but  a  lover 
of  hospitality,  a  lover  of  good  men,  sober,  just,  holy, 
temperate;  holding  fast  the  faithful  word  as  he  hath 
been  taught,  that  he  may  be  able  by  sound  doctrine 
both  to  exhort  and  to  convince  the  gainsay ers"  (Titus 
I  :  7-9). 

Qiies.  Are  you  assured  that  you  are  inwardly  moved 
b}'  the  Holy  Ghost  to  take  upon  j'-ou  the  office  of  the 
ministrj'  to  serve  God  in  the  church  of  Christ  to  the 
honor  and  glory  of  his  holy  name?  If  so,  answer,  "I 
trust  I  am." 

Ques.  Do  you  believe  the  Holy  Scriptures,  Old  and 
New  Testaments?    If  so,  answer,  "  I  do  believe  them.'* 

Ques.  Will  you  apply  due  diligence  to  frame  and 
fashion  your  life  according  to  the  doctrines  of  Christ, 
and  to  make  5^ourself,  as  much  as  in  yovi  lies,  a  whole- 
some example  to  the  flock  of  Christ  ?  If  so,  answer,  *'  I 
will,  the  Lord  being  my  helper." 

Qiies.  Will  3^ou  obey  them  to  whom  the  charge  and 
government  over  you  are  committed,  and  follow  their 
godly  admonitions  with  a  willing  and  ready  mind  ?    If 

123 


124  MANUAlv  OF  UNITED   BRETHREN 

SO,  answer,  *'  I  will  endeavor,  through  the  grace  of  God, 
to  do  so." 

3.  Then  prayer  is  to  be  offered. 

4.  After  prayer,  the  bishop  and  elders  shall  lay  their 
hands  upon  the  head  of  each  of  them,  and  say : 

' '  Take  thou  authority  to  execute  the  office  of  an  elder 
in  the  church  of  God,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and 
of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     Amen." 

Hereupon  the  bishop  or  elder  shall  deliver  to  each 
of  them  the  Holy  Bible,  saying : 

' '  Take  thou  authority  to  preach  the  word  of  God  and 
to  administer  the  ordinances  in  the  church  of  Christ." 

5.  Then  the  bishop  or  an  elder  shall  pray.  And  after 
prayer  he  shall  read  from  Luke  12  :  35-38 : 

"Let  your  loins  be  girded  about,  and  your  lights 
burning  ;  and  ye  yourselves  like  unto  men  that  wait  for 
their  Lord,  when  he  will  return  from  the  wedding  ;  that 
when  he  cometh  and  knocketh,  they  may  open  unto 
him  immediately.  Blessed  are  those  servants  whom 
the  Lord  when  he  cometh  shall  find  watching ;  verily  I 
say  unto  you,  that  he  shall  gird  himself,  and  make 
them  to  sit  down  to  meat,  and  will  come  forth  and  serve 
them.  And  if  he  shall  come  in  the  second  watch,  or 
come  in  the  third  watch,  and  find  them  so,  blessed  are 
those  servants." 

6.  After  this,  the  following  benediction  is  to  be 
pronounced : 

"  The  peace  of  God  keep  your  hearts  and  minds  i?i  the 
hiowledge  of  fesus  Ch rist  our  Lord.    Amen^ 

Section  n.— Marriage  Ceremonies. 
I.     Commo7i  Ceremony. 

We  are  gathered  together  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  in 
the  presence  of  these  witnesses,  to  join  together  N  and 
M  as  husband  and  wife.     If  any  person  present  knows 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  12$ 

any  jUvSt  cause  or  impediment  why  these  persons  should 
not  be  joined  in  marriage,  let  the  same  now  speak  or 
forever  keep  silent. 

[If  no  impediment  be  alleged,  then  shall  the  minister 
say:] 

Do  you,  and  each  of  you,  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  in 
the  presence  of  these  witnesses,  covenant  to  live  to- 
gether after  God's  ordinance  as  husband  and  wife,  loving, 
honoring,  and  cherishing  each  other  in  sickness  and  in 
health,  in  prosperity  and  adversity,  forsaking  all  others 
and  cleaving  to  each  other  as  long  as  you  both  shall 
live  ?    If  so,  answer,  "I  do."    Join  your  right  hands. 

"Those  whom  God  hath  joined  together,  let  no  man 
put  asunder." 

Inasmuch  as  you  have  consented  together  in  Christian 
marriage  in  the  sight  of  God  and  in  the  presence  of 
these  witnesses,  I  pronounce  you  husband  and  wife,  in 
the  name  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost.    Amen. 

2.    I^mg^  Ceremony. 

The  institution  of  marriage  is  coeval  with  the  family  of 
man.  God  saw  that  it  was  not  good  for  man  to  be  alone 
even  in  paradise,  and  formed  and  gave  to  him  woman, 
that  she  might  be  a  "help  meet  for  him."  This  union, 
like  that  of  the  body  and  soul,  is  only  to  be  severed  by 
the  hand  of  death.  Deeming  it  sufficient  to  refer  you 
to  the  Holy  Scriptures  concerning  the  duties  you  will 
henceforth  owe  to  each  other,  I  will  proceed  to  receive 
your  mutual  plighted  faith,  and  seal  your  marriage  vows. 

A,  do  you  take  B  to  be  j'our  wedded  wife,  to  live 
together  after  God's  ordinance ;  will  j-ou  love,  honor, 
and  cherish  her  in  sickness  and  in  health,  in  prosperity 
and  adversity  ;  and  will  you  keep  yourself  to  her  only 
as  long  as  yon  both  shall  live  ? 

A71S.     I  will. 


126  MANUAL   OF   UNITED   BRETHREN 

B,  do  you  take  A  to  be  your  wedded  husband,  to  live 
together  after  God's  ordinance  ;  will  3'ou  love,  honor,  and 
cherish  him  in  sickness  and  in  health,  in  prosperity 
and  adversity  ;  and  will  you  keep  yourself  to  him  only 
as  long  as  you  both  shall  live  ? 

Ans.     I  will. 

Join  your  right  hands. 

[Then  let  the  groom  repeat  after  the  minister  as 
follows :  ] 

I,  A,  take  thee,  B,  to  be  my  wedded  wife,  to  have  and 
to  hold,  from  this  day  forward,  till  death  do  us  part ; 
and  thereto  I  plight  thee  my  troth. 

[The  bride  shall  repeat  after  the  minister:] 

I,  B,  take  thee.  A,  to  be  my  wedded  husband,  to  have 
and  to  hold,  from  this  daj^  forward,  till  death  do  us  part, 
and  thereto  I  plight  thee  my  troth. 

[  Here  the  hands  shall  be  loosed.  A  will  hand  the  ring 
to  B  ;  B  hand  the  ring  to  the  minister ;  the  minister 
hand  the  ring  to  the  groom.  The  groom  will  put  the 
ring  on  the  index  finger  of  the  left  hand  of  the  bride, 
and,  holding  the  ring,  repeat  after  the  minister  the  fol- 
lowing :] 

With  this  ring  I  thee  do  w^ed,  and  with  all  my  worldly 
goods  and  my  heart's  faithful  affection  I  thee  endow,  in 
the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
GhOvSt.     Amen. 

[The  minister  will  then  place  his  right  hand  on  the 
joined  hands  of  the  couple,  and  say  as  follows :] 

Those  whom  God  hath  joined  together  let  no  man  put 
asunder.  Forasmuch  as  A  and  B  have  consented  to- 
gether in  holy  wedlock,  and  have  witnessed  the  same 
before  God  and  these  present,  and  hereto  have  given  and 
pledged  their  faith  each  to  the  other,  and  have  declared 
the  same  by  giving  and  receiving  a  ring,  and  by  joining 
hands,  I  pronounce  them  luusband  and  wife,  in  the  name 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  I27 

of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Amen. 
[The  following  benediction  shall  be  pronounced  :] 
God  the  Father,  God  the  Son,  God  the  Holy  Ghost, 
bless,  preserve,  and  keep  3'ou ;  the  Lord,  mercifully,  with 
his  favor,  look  upon  you,  and  fill  you  with  all  spiritual 
benediction  and  grace,  that  you  may  so  live  together  in 
this  life  that  in  the  world  to  come  you  may  have  life 
everlasting.     Amen. 

Section  III.— Burial  of  the  Dead. 

[After  the  coffin  is  lowered  into  the  grave,  the  minis- 
ter shall  repeat  the  following  :  ] 

' '  Man  that  is  born  of  a  woman  is  of  few  days,  and  full  of 
trouble.  He  cometh  forth  like  a  flower,  and  is  cut  down : 
he  fleeth  also  as  a  shadow,  and  continueth  not."  "Lord, 
make  me  to  know  mine  end,  and  the  measure  of  my 
days,  what  it  is  ;  that  I  may  know  how  frail  I  am." 

In  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death  ;  unto  whom  should 
we  seek  for  succor  but  unto  thee,  O  Lord,  who  for  our 
sins  art  justly  displeased  ?  Our  hope  is  in  thy  Son 
Jesus  Christ,  who  hath  said,  "I  am  the  resurrection  and 
the  life  :  he  that  believeth  in  me,  though  he  were  dead, 
yet  shall  he  live  ;  and  whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  in 
me  shall  never  die."  "For  w^e  know  that  if  our  earthly 
house  of  this  tabernacle  were  dissolved,  we  have  a 
building  of  God,  a  house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal 
in  the  heavens." 

"And  I  heard  a  voice  from  heaven  sa3'ing  unto  me. 
Write,  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from 
henceforth  :  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest 
from  their  labors  ;  and  their  works  do  follow  them." 

"There  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow  nor 
crying,  neither  shall  there  be  any  more  pain  ;  for  the 
former  things  are  passed  awa3\ ' ' 


128  MANUAL   OF   UNITED   BRETHREN 

Inasmuch  as  God  in  his  wise  providence  has  called 
out  of  time  into  eternity  the  soul  of  our  brother  [sister 
or  child],  we  commit  his  [or  her]  remains  to  the  ground, 
earth  to  earth,  ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to  dust,  in  the  confi- 
dent hope  of  the  general  resurrection  through  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  at  his  coming  and  glory;  that  this  corrupt- 
ible body  shall  be  raised  up  and  be  fashioned  like  unto 
the  glorious  body  of  Christ,  be  reunited  with  the  soul, 
and  be  received  into  everlasting  habitations.    Amen. 

[Benediction.] 

Section  IV.— Holy  Communion. 

Isaiah  53 : 3-5. 

"He  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men ;  a  man  of  sor- 
rows, and  acquainted  with  grief:,  and  we  hid  as  it  were 
our  faces  from  him  ;  he  was  despised,  and  we  esteemed 
him  not.  Surely  he  hath  borne  our  griefs,  and  carried 
our  sorrows :  yet  we  did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten 
of  God,  and  afflicted.  But  he  was  wounded  for  our 
transgressions,  he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities  :  the 
chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  him  ;  and  with  his 
stripes  we  are  healed." 

Luke  22 :  14-20. 

"And  when  the  hour  was  come,  he  sat  down,  and  the 
twelve  apostles  with  him.  And  he  said  unto  them, 
With  desire  I  have  desired  to  eat  this  passover  with  you 
before  I  suffer  :  for  I  say  unto  you,  I  will  not  any  more 
eat  thereof,  until  it  be  fulfilled  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 
And  he  took  the  cup,  and  gave  thanks,  and  said.  Take 
this,  and  divide  it  among  yourselves:  for  I  say  unto 
you,  I  will  not  drink  of  the  fruit  of  the  vine,  until  the 
kingdom  of  God  shall  come.  And  he  took  bread,  and 
gave  thanks,  and  brake  it,  and  gave  unto  them,  saying, 
This  is  my  body,  which  is  given  for  you :  this  do  in 


CHURCH    DISCIPLINE  I29 

remembrance  of  me.  I/ikewise  also  the  cup  after  sup- 
per, saying,  This  cup  is  the  new  testament  in  my  blood, 
which  is  shed  for  you." 

/.  Corinthians  ii :  23-26. 

**For  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  that  which  also  I 
delivered  unto  you,  That  the  Lord  Jesus  the  same  night 
in  which  he  was  betrayed  took  bread;  and  when  he 
had  given  thanks,  he  brake  it,  and  said.  Take,  eat :  this 
is  my  bod}^  which  is  broken  for  you ;  this  do  in  remem- 
brance of  me.  After  the  same  manner  also  he  took  the 
cup,  when  he  had  supped,  saying,  This  cup  is  the  new 
testament  in  my  blood:  this  do  ye,  as  oft  as  ye  drink  it,  in 
remembrance  of  me.  For  as  often  as  ye  eat  this  bread, 
and  drink  this  cup,  ye  do  show  the  Lord's  death  till  he 
come." 

As  many  of  you  as  truly  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
are  now  invited  to  draw  near,  and  humbh'  receive  these 
elements  in  memory  of  the  suffering  and  death  of  30ur 
Lord  and  Saviour. 

Singing. 

Praj'er. 

Administration  of  the  elements. 

Section  V.— Baptism  of  Adults. 

Our  Lord  commanded  his  apostles,  saying,  "Go  ye 
therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost"  (Matt.  28:  19).  On  the  day  of  Pentecost,  the 
multitude,  under  the  preaching  of  the  word,  "were 
pricked  in  their  heart,  and  said  unto  Peter  and  to  the 
rest  of  the  apostles,  Men  and  brethren,  what  shall  we 
do  ?  Then  Peter  said  unto  them,  Repent,  and  be  bap- 
tized every  one  of  3'ou  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  for 


130  MANUAL  OF  UNITED   BRETHREN 

the  remission  of  sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of 
the  Holy  Ghost"  (Acts  2 :  2>ly  38). 

' '  Then  they  that  gladly  received  his  word  were  bap- 
tized: and  the  same  day  there  were  added  unto  them 
about  three  thousands  souls  "  (Acts  2  :  41 ). 

Philip  the  evangelist  went  down  to  the  city  of 
Samaria,  and  preached  Christ  to  the  people.  And 
"when  they  believed  Philip  preaching  the  things  con- 
cerning the  kingdom  of  God,  and  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  they  were  baptized,  both  men  and  women" 
(Acts  8:  12). 

Dearly  beloved,  it  has  pleased  God,  in  his  infinite 
mercy,  to  awaken  you  to  a  sense  of  your  guilt  and 
danger,  and  to  lead  you,  as  we  humbly  trust,  to  repent- 
ance and  faith  in  ourXord  Jesus  Christ.  By  presenting 
yourself  for  this  holy  sacrament,  you  declare  your  pur- 
pose to  lead  a  new  life,  and  to  seek  an  inheritance  with 
the  righteous  in  the  "house  not  made  with  hands, 
eternal  in  the  heavens." 

Do  you  then  solemnly  consecrate  yourself  to  Christ 
and  his  service,  and  will  you  endeavor  henceforth  to 
keep  God's  holy  commandments  and  to  walk  in  the 
same  all  the  days  of  your  life?  If  so,  answer,  "I  will 
endeavor  so  to  do,  the  Lord  being  my  helper." 

[The  minister  shall  then  baptize  the  candidate,  the 
service  to  be  concluded  with  a  short  prayer  and  the 
benediction.] 

Section  VI.— Baptism  of  cmidren. 

"And  they  brought  young  children  to  him,  that  he 
should  touch  them  :  and  his  disciples  rebuked  those  that 
brought  them.  But  when  Jesus  saw  it  he  was  much 
displeased,  and  said  unto  them,  Suffer  the  little  children 
to  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not :  for  of  such  is  the 
kingdom  of  God.     Verily  I  say  unto  you,  Whosoever 


CHURCH  DISCIPLINE  I3I 

shall  not  receive  the  kingdom  of  God  as  a  little  child,  he 
shall  not  enter  therein.  And  he  took  them  up  in  his 
arms,  put  his  hands  upon  them,  and  blessed  them" 
(Mark  lo:  13-16). 

In  presenting  this  child  for  baptism,  you  not  only 
signify  your  faith  in  the  Christian  religion,  of  which 
baptism  is  an  ordinance,  but  also  your  desire  that  he 
[or  she]  may  early  know  and  follow  the  wdll  of  God, 
may  live  and  die  a  Christian,  and  attain  unto  everlast- 
ing life. 

In  order  to  do  this,  it  will  be  your  duty  as  parents  [or 
guardians]  to  teach  him  [or  her]  early  the  fear  of  the 
Lord  ;  to  watch  over  his  [or  her]  education,  that  he  [or 
she]  be  led  not  astray;  to  direct  his  [or  her]  youthful 
mind  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  his  [or  her]  feet  to 
the  sanctuary  ;  to  restrain  him  [or  her]  from  evil  asso- 
ciates and  habits  ;  and,  as  much  as  in  you  lies,  to  bring 
him  [or  her]  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord. 

Ques.     Will  you  endeavor  so  to  do,  by  the  help  of  God  ? 

Afis.     I  will. 

[The  minister  shall  then  baptize  the  child,  repeating 
the  full  name  of  the  same,  saying:]  I  baptize  thee  in 
the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Amen.  [All  to  be  foUow^ed  with  a  short  prayer 
by  the  minister.] 

Section  vn.— Laying  of  Comer-Stone. 

"Beloved:  In  ancient  time  God  commanded  his 
servant  Moses  to  set  up  the  tabernacle  in  the  wilderness, 
and  bestowed  his  blessing  upon  Solomon,  the  king,  in 
erecting  the  temple  in  Jerusalem,  whither  the  tribes 
came  up  to  worship.  In  like  manner  he  has  moved  j'our 
hearts  to  erect  a  sanctuary,  where,  in  years  to  come,  his 
people  may  assemble  for  prayer  and  praise.      We  have 


I. 

Singing. 

2. 

Reading  of  scripture 

3- 

Prayer. 

4. 

Singing. 

5- 

Sermon  or  address. 

6. 

Collection. 

132  MANUAI,   OF   UNITED   BRETHREN 

met  together  at  this  time  to  lay  the  corner-stone  with 
proper  religious  services." 


(Ps.  132;  I.  Cor.  3:8-23.) 


The  minister  standing  by  the  stone  shall  exhibit  the 
box  to  be  deposited,  and  read  the  list  of  contents.  Then 
the  minister,  assisted  by  the  builder,  shall  deposit  the 
box  and  adjust  the  stone  to  its  resting  place. 

This  done,  the  minister  shall  strike  the  stone  thrice 
with  a  trowel  or  hammer,  and  say :  "In  the  name  of 
the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  we 
lay  this  corner-stone  in  the  foundation  of  a  house  to  be 
erected  and  dedicated  for  the  worship  of  God,  where  his 
w^ord  shall  be  preached  and  his  worship  maintained. 
Amen." 

Singing. 

Benediction. 

Section  VIII.—  Church  Dedication. 

1.  Scripture  reading.  (Ps.  84;  or,  Isa.  62  and  Ps. 
122.) 

2.  Singing. 

3.  Pra3'er. 

4.  Singing. 

5.  Sermon. 

6.  Monetary  offering. 

7.  Singing. 

8.  Reading,  with  congregation  standing  : 

"But  will  God  indeed  dwell  on  the  earth?  behold,  the 
heaven,  and  heaven  of  heavens,  cannot  contain  thee; 
how  much  less  this  house  that  I  have  builded  !  Yet  have 


CHURCH   DISCIPUNE  133 

thou  respect  unto  the  prayer  ot  thy  servant,  and  to  his 
supplication,  O  Lord  my  God,  to  hearken  unto  the  cry 
and  to  the  prayer  which  thy  servant  prayeth  before  thee 
to-day.  That  thine  eyes  may  be  open  toward  this  house 
night  and  day,  even  toward  the  place  of  which  thou  hast 
said.  My  name  shall  be  there ;  that  thou  mayest  hearken 
unto  the  praj^er  w^hich  thy  servant  shall  make  toward 
this  place.  And  hearken  thou  to  the  supplication  of  thy 
servant,  and  of  thy  people  Israel,  when  they  shall  pray 
toward  this  place :  and  hear  thou  in  heaven  thy  dwell- 
ing place  ;  and  when  thou  hearest,  forgive. 

"If  any  man  trespass  against  his  neighbour,  and  an 
oath  be  laid  upon  him  to  cause  him  to  swear,  and  the 
oath  come  before  thine  altar  in  this  house :  then  hear 
thou  in  heaven,  and  do,  and  judge  thy  servants,  con- 
demning the  wicked,  to  bring  his  way  upon  his  head ; 
and  justifying  the  righteous,  to  give  him  according  to 
his  righteousness. 

"  When  th}-  people  Israel  be  smitten  down  before  the 
enemy,  because  they  have  sinned  against  thee,  and  shall 
turn  again  to  thee,  and  confess  th}'  name,  and  praj',  and 
make  supplication  unto  thee  in  this  house :  then  hear 
thou  in  heaven,  and  forgive  the  sin  of  thy  people  Israel, 
and  bring  them  again  unto  the  land  which  thou  gavest 
unto  their  fathers. 

' '  When  heaven  is  shut  up,  and  there  is  no  rain,  because 
they  have  sinned  against  thee  ;  if  they  pray  toward  this 
place,  and  confess  thy  name,  and  turn  from  their  sin, 
when  thou  afflictest  them :  then  hear  thou  in  heaven, 
and  forgive  the  sin  of  thy  servants,  and  of  thy  people 
Israel,  that  thou  teach  them  the  good  w^ay  wherein  they 
should  walk,  and  give  rain  upon  thy  land,  which  thou 
hast  given  to  thy  people  for  an  inheritance. 

"  If  there  be  in  the  land  famine,  if  there  be  pestilence, 
blasting,  mildew%  locust,  or  if  there  be  caterpillar ;   if 


134  MANUAI.   OF   UNITED   BRETHREN 

their  enem}^  besiege  them  in  the  land  of  their  cities ; 
whatsoever  plague,  whatsoever  sickness  there  be ;  what 
prayer  and  supplication  soever  be  made  b}^  any  man,  or 
by  all  thy  people  Israel,  which  shall  know  every  man 
the  plague  of  his  own  heart,  and  spread  forth  his  hands 
toward  this  house  :  then  hear  thou  in  heaven  thy  dwell- 
ing place,  and  forgive,  and  do,  and  give  to  ever}^  man 
according  to  his  ways,  whose  heart  thou  knowest ;  ( for 
thou,  even  thou  only,  knowest  the  hearts  of  all  the 
children  of  men  ; )  that  they  may  fear  thee  all  the  days 
that  they  live  in  the  land  which  thou  gavest  unto  our 
fathers. 

"Moreover  concerning  a  stranger,  that  is  not  of  thy 
people  Israel,  but  cometh  out  of  a  far  country  for  thy 
name's  sake;  (for  they  shall  hear  of  thy  great  name, 
and  of  thy  strong  hand,  and  of  thy  stretched  out  arm  ;  ) 
when  he  shall  come  and  pray  toward  this  house  :  hear 
thou  in  heaven  thy  dwelling  place,  and  do  according  to 
all  that  the  stranger  calleth  to  thee  for,  that  all  people 
of  the  earth  may  know  thy  name,  to  fear  thee,  as  do  thy 
people  Israel ;  and  that  the}^  may  know  that  this  house, 
which  I  have  builded,  is  called  by  thy  name "  (I.  Kings 
8 :  27-43 ). 

"  We  will  go  into  his  tabernacles  ;  we  will  worship  at 
his  footstool.  .  .  .  For  the  Lord  hath  chosen  Zion  ;  he 
hath  desired  it  for  his  habitation.  This  is  mj'  rest  for- 
ever :  here  will  I  dwell ;  for  I  have  desired  it.  I  will 
abundantly  bless  her  provision  :  I  will  satisf}^  her  poor 
with  bread.  I  will  also  clothe  her  priests  wnth  salva- 
tion ;  and  her  saints  shall  shout  aloud  for  joy"  (Ps. 
132:  7,  13-16). 

"Now,  my  God,  let,  I  beseech  thee,  thine  eyes  be 
open,  and  let  thine  ears  be  attent  unto  the  prayer  that 
is  made  in  this  place.  Now  therefore  arise,  O  Lord 
God,  into  thy  resting  place,  thou,  and  the  ark  of  thy 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  I35 

strength :  let  thy  priests,  O  Lord  God,  be  clothed  with 
salvation,  and  let  th}'  saints  rejoice  in  goodness"  (II. 
Chr.  6  :  40,  41 ), 

"  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  from  everlasting 
to  everlasting  :  and  let  all  the  people  say,  Amen.  Praise 
ye  the  Lord"  (  Ps.  106 :  48). 

9.  Charge  to  the  trustees. 

10.  Delivery  of  the  keys  in  the  name  of  the  Trinity 
to  hold  in  trust  for  God  and  the  United  Brethren  in 
Christ. 

11.  Doxology. 

12.  Benediction. 

Section  IX.— Certificates  and  Licenses- 
I.    Forfn  of  Certificate  of  Transfer  of  Member. 

This  is  to  certify  that  A  B  is  an  acceptable  member 
of  the   Church  of  the  United   Brethren   in   Christ,   at 

Class,  Charge,  Conference,  and  is 

hereby  transferred  to  Society,  of Charge, 

Conference. 

Pastor. 

[Date,  etc.] 

2.  Form  of  Certificate  of  Membership. 

This  is  to  certify  that  A  B  is  a  member  in  good 
standing  of  the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ 

at ,  and  is  hereby  recommended  to  the  confidence 

and  fellowship  of  Christians  everywhere. 

Pastor. 

[Date,  etc.] 

3.  Form  of  Certificate  of  Withdrawal. 

This  to  certify  that  A  B  has  been  until  this  date  a 
member  in  good  standing  in  the  Church  of  the  United 


136  MANUAL   OF   UNITED   BRETHREN 

Brethren  in  Christ,  at  ,  and  at  request  is 

granted  this  letter  of  withdrawal  and  recommendation 
from  the  Church  by  a  vote  of  the  class. 

Pastor. 

[Date,  etc.] 

4.  Form  of  License  for  Quarterly  Conference  Preacher 

or  Exhorter. 

This  is  to  certify  that is  an  approved of 

the  gospel  in  the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in 
Christ,  as  long  as  his  conduct  and  doctrine  are  conform- 
able with  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

Given  at  a  quarterly  conference,  held  on Charge, 

this day  of in  the  year  of  our  Lord  18 — . 

Subject  to  renewal  annually. 

P.E. 

5.  Form  for  Perma7ie?it  Lice?ise  for  Quarterly  Cofifer- 

e?ice  Preachers. 

This  is  to  certify  that has  completed  the  course 

of  reading  required,  and  is  hereby  granted  a  permanent 
license  as  a  quarterly  conference  preacher  in  the  Church 
of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ.        Signed, 

P.E. 

[Date,  etc.] 

6.    Form  for  An7iual  Conference  Liceiise. 

This  is  to  certify  that. is  an  approved  preacher 

of  the  gospel  in  the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in 
Christ,  as  long  as  his  conduct  and  doctrine  are  comform- 
able  with  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

Given  at  an  annual   conference,  held   in  this 

day  of in  the  year  of  our  Lord  18 — . 

Signed  in  behalf  of  said  conference. 

Bishop. 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  I37 

7.    Form  for  Elder's  License. 

This  is  to  certify  that  is  an  approved  preacher 

of  the  gospel  in  the  Church  of  the  United  Brethren  in 
Christ,  as  long  as  his  conduct  and  doctrine  are  conform- 
able with  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  has  been  ordained 
tO'the  office  of  an  elder  by  the  laying  on  of  hands. 

Given  at  an   annual  conference  held  in  this 

day  of in  the  year  of  our  Lord  i8 — . 

Signed  and  sealed  in  behalf  of  said  conference. 

Bishop. 

8.    Form  for  Transfer  of  Preacher. 

This  is  to  certify  that is  a of  the  Church 

of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ  of Conference, 

and  is  hereby  transferred  to  Conference  of  said 

Church. 

Bishop  or  Secretary. 

[Date,  etc.] 

Section  X.— Bequests. 

I.    Home,  Fro?itier,  and  Foreign  Missionary  Society. 

I  give-  and  bequeath  to  the  Home,  Frontier,  and  For- 
eign Missionary  Society  of  the  United  Brethren  in 
Christ,  organized  by  the  General  Conference  of  said 
Church,    May    20,    1853,    and    incorporated    in    Butler 

County,  Ohio,  September  22^,    1854,  the  sum  of  

dollars  ;  and  the  receipt  of  the  treasurer  of  the  society 
shall  be  a  sufficient  discharge  thereof  to  my  execu- 
tors and  administrators. 

2.     Woman's  MissioJtary  Associatioii. 

I  give,  devise,  and  bequeath  to  the  Woman's  Mission- 
ary Association  of  the  United  Brethren  in  Christ,  for 
Dollars. 


138 


MANUAIv  OF  UNITED  BRETHREN 

Section  XI.— Reports. 
I.    Form  of  Preacher's  Report. 


Quarterly  Report, 


■Annual  Conference,  United  Brethren 
in  Christ. 


Classes  or  Fields  of  Labor. 

District. 

Circuit. 

Mission. 

Quarter. 

189.. 

6 
S 

"S 
^ 

i 

.d 
o 

S 
5 

1 

o 

.2 

1 

6 

"3 

1 

Members  at  present. 

Tlnr»t,i.<;TTis 

r~lln«:^-Tnppt,i Tiers  held. 

Preacher's  salary. 

Telescopes.         

Search  Lights 

Womati^s  Evangels 

Watchwords 

Collected  for  church  exp 

Collected  for 

Collected  for    

Collected  for 

1 

....|.... 

1 

[  Name.] 

[The  blanks  can  be  filled  out  to  suit  either  pastor  or  presiding 
elder,  as  the  presiding  elder  would  simply  give  the  total  column 
of  each  work.] 


CHURCH   DISCIPLINE  I39 

2.    Sabbath-School  S2iperi?ite?ide?it's  Report. 

, Sabbath  School,  Quarter. 

[Date.] 

1.  Number  of  officers  and  teachers 

2.  Number  of  scholars  enrolled 

3.  Average  attendance 

4.  Children' s  Friends 

5.  Children's  Visitors 

6.  Lesso?is  for  the  Little  0?ies 

7.  Quarte^dies 

8.  Bible  Teachers 

9.  Amount  of  collections 

10.  Expenses  of  the  quarter 

11.  Missions 

Remarks. 

Superintendent. 

3.    Class-Leader's  Report. 

Class,  Quarter. 

[Date.] 

1.  Number  of  members 

2.  Number  of  meetings  held 

3.  Average  attendance 

4.  Number  of  sick  and  delinquent  members  visited... 

4.     Contribution  Card. 

Church,  [Date.] 

I  hereby  agree  to  pa}'-  to  the  order  of  the  treasurer  of 

Church  the  sum  of. ,  weekl}^  during  the 

year  commencing for  pastor's  salary  and  other 

church  expenses. 

[Signature] 


